Once Upon An Us
by ThatLemonTree
Summary: Everything seemed to halt the moment he heard it. Only laughter remained. Resounding inside the room, inside his head, squeezing his heart. She looked up at him, eyes reminding Law of the coffee he so terribly needed. She was as simple as before. Her beauty was unassuming. And Law still finds her absolutely beautiful. It dawned on him how much he deprived himself of happiness.
1. Chapter 1

Hi! It's been a while.

I'm back again. This time with a femluffy/Law story.

Its a cliche romantic fluff and family fluff with a sprinkle of angst.

Its probably been written before but here's my take. Hope you guys enjoy.

* * *

Luffy felt giddy as she shifted from one foot to the other, hopping and clumsily tripping over piled clothes on her bedroom floor.

She felt like her feet barely touched the ground, overjoyed; she began to hum to herself as she bounced around their small rented apartment. She couldn't sit still nor remain in one spot, her heart was beating away, fluttering inside her chest as she bit her lips stopping the grin forming in her face.

She was finally meeting her boyfriend after not seeing each other for ninety days, eleven hours, forty-five minutes and thirty-three seconds. She might have counted a tad too specific but that's beside the point, she was excited.

Her boyfriend had to attend a university far from Wind Mill to reach his dreams of becoming a cardiologist. He always wanted to be a doctor and Luffy had been so supportive of him; wanting nothing more than for him to reach his dream.

It didn't matter that she misses the man so bad every second they spent apart. Their schedules didn't match, which meant less time to communicate with each other through texts and calls. Her boyfriend had a tight schedule with all his advanced classes — he was really smart after all, it was as expected for him to get extra classes — and Luffy, herself, juggled with multiple part-time jobs that were taking up most of her spare time.

Needs must, she supposes.

Beggars can't be choosers. So she'll grab what time she can to spend on checking up on him. He has a tendency to miss his meals and seriously, who does that? Food is good. Luffy loves food as much as he loves him.

After graduating high school together, Luffy was undecided to pursue college while Law immediately got admitted to the top medical school in the neighboring city. Law had been understanding even though he really wanted Luffy to come with him and attend the same school.

And just the thought of Law wanting to spend his college years with her made her heart swell.

Luffy didn't want to force herself into entering college when she was not sure on what to do no matter how good it sound to go with her boyfriend, money didn't come as easy to her and her siblings compared to her boyfriend's businessmen extraordinaire dad and uncle. She didn't want to burden her brothers more, they were already paying everything for her —to the point of being annoying. Their grandfather did send allowances for them monthly but considering their food consumption —which is, oh boy, don't even ask — it was barely enough.

Her boyfriend's dad even offered to pay all of her fees in college but Luffy being Luffy choose to decline, she didn't want to rely on other people. She still wanted to do things herself. She didn't want to burden other people. How would she grow into an independent woman if everything was spoon fed to her?

She wanted to succeed in life with her own will and strength.

She fixed her short black hair — barely reaching her shoulders— or at least tried to as she untangled the knotted mess and huffed in annoyance every time the comb snagged. Her hair hugs her face in the right way which makes her ten times cuter...Well, that's what her brother says.

She didn't care what she looked like. Those things didn't matter to her, it was what's inside the heart that matters.

Though sometimes —rarely—, she would look at herself in the mirror and wonder; how on earth did someone like Trafalgar Law liked her.

She sees a plain, skinny, black haired girl with a scar below her left eye. She wore baggy clothes and loose pants more to the demise of her friend Nami. She skips class to hang out with her friends, dives into street fights and eats like twenty full grown men. Nowhere near the girls that one would like to date, bring to a dance and much less meet their parents.

Law could date any girl that he wanted yet he chose Luffy.

And that thought alone made her feel so warm and loved.

Her phone rang and she almost fell off the chair she was sitting on. That was weird, she was sure she was almost done preparing. She scrunched her nose, was this the thing that Ace and Sabo always picked her on? What was that word...

Mooning.

Yeah. Mooning over Law.

Huh. Love does make you do weird things.

Picking up the trashed combed on the floor, she grabbed her phone and grinned at the message displayed on the screen.

_**'I'm at Makino's.' - Torao**_

She bit her lip, that giddy feeling coming back again just because of a single text from him.

Luffy grabbed a pair of blue tattered jeans from her closet and a white loose shirt with a flaming fist design that was splayed on the bed. It may or may not be her brother's shirt but details. She's sure Ace would flip out if he finds out she was wearing his clothes again but her boyfriend was waiting for her and the longer she lags around, the lesser time Law and her could spend together.

She stormed out of the only bedroom in the apartment and put on her flip flops, grabbing her phone on the dresser and her favorite straw hat. She bolted to the door, screaming goodbye to her brother who was lounging in the living room, watching television with his boyfriend; both almost half-naked and thank god Luffy didn't see them making out this time. Sabo was at work, so decency is out of the window apparently.

Before the man could even reply or turn around to see her out, Luffy was already out of the door and away from her brother busting her of wearing his shirts — again.

A slammed door and an "Ace, I'm going out to meet Torao. I'll come home before six, but I won't promise. Shishi, love yah! Better leave food for me!" could be heard from behind the door. No doubt it can be heard throughout the whole neighborhood and beyond.

The couple jumped away from each other as the door slammed shut. Marco shook his head and leaned back on the chair. Ace smiled fondly, shaking his head at his sister's antics and leaned on his boyfriend's shoulders. It is not every day he gets a day off so might as well take advantage and binge watch his favorite series with his beau and with no noisy Luffy around.

He loves her oh so much but he needed privacy. It was hard to do things while his sister was in the other room and might pop out randomly. Her innocence was on the line so he got to be a good big brother and behave.

Luffy ran past the streets, smiling and waving at almost every person she met along the way. When you live in a small town, you'd end up befriending a lot of people. In Luffy's case, everybody.

Older people may call her a menace sometimes but they couldn't deny how she brightens up their town with her sunny attitude, her distinct laughter and her buzzing energy.

Sometimes the mayor scolds her for doing reckless things, disturbing the peace with her rowdiness; everyone knew that's how the mayor shows his fondness and concern for the young lady.

Cheeks flushed from running and smiling at the people she passed by, Luffy finally arrived at Party's a homey and dainty cafe owned Makino. She used to look after Luffy and her brothers when she was younger before their Grandpa had sent Dadan to "take care" of them.

The little bell rang as she opened the door, her heart racing in her chest.

Luffy noticed Makino cleaning and arranging small plates and cups behind the counter. She waved at the dark haired lady and she smiled, her face lighting up yet Luffy can tell that there was something hidden in there, a trace of hesitation.

She paused and looked at her for a moment, Makino was genuinely smiling now. That might be her eyes playing with her. She shrugged it off for the timebeing, she'd get back to Makino later and make sure she's okay. Luffy would punch anyone who makes Makino sad.

Luffy pranced through wooden tables and chairs, aiming for the little open area of the cafe overlooking the waters of East Blue.

Smiling from ear to ear, happiness trembled inside her, almost bursting with the prospect of finally seeing Law after months of being away from each other.

She skipped through the tables, maneuvering like the graceful —HA! Lies — monkey that she was and and reached area where Law was calmly sitting, his long legs crossed and Luffy couldn't help but be swooned again.

Torao looked perfect.

Luffy sighed, weak. So weak for him.

He was wearing his favorite yellow and black jacket and spotted jeans. His fluffy white spotted hat covered his midnight blue hair shadowing half of his face. The whole image screamed, tall, dark, handsome and mysterious.

She was really lucky, wasn't she?

"Torao!" she ran towards the table all smiles on her face and her boyfriend looked up with an annoyed frown. Still the grumpy guy, so it seemed. She already told him to smile more. He looks good smiling.

Stupid Torao.

Used to it, Luffy shrugged. Torao must have had an argument with his uncle again since he was making that grumpy face again. But it doesn't matter, Luffy will turn that frown upside down.

"You're late, Luffy-ya." his silky voice made Luffy shiver.

Did she say she missed the man? Cause that might as well be an understatement.

"Shishishi, sorry! I was helping old Nyon cross the street. And may be talked to one or two people along the way." She settled herself on a chair opposite with Law's, enthusiastically taking the menu laid on the table even though she already memorized the entire thing written there.

"You don't have to order, we won't be staying long," Law said with such indifference, Luffy actually dropped the menu and stared at him. She pouted a bit, that was mean. He must have had a really really bad fight with his uncle then.

"Did something happen with your uncle?" Law shook his head and looked her in the eyes. Gray eyes piercing through her. There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other, the world around them hushed and it was just the two of them.

Law sighed. "I'm breaking up with you, Luffy.-ya."

Luffy blinked. She stared at Law. The first person she felt what romantic love was.

"I ought to tell you months ago but I didn't want to say it in our phone calls. Sorry." He said.

She listened, she could feel her heart fall in to a million tiny fragile pieces.

Huh, those girls talking about heart break weren't exaggerating, were they?

Luffy couldn't blame him. She was... Well... she was Luffy, different from everyone else. Law finally opened his eyes and realized she wasn't worth all the troubles she brought in his life.

"I see." She mumbled softly, something out of character coming from Luffy of all people. A million thoughts swirled inside her head, making it ache. She didn't like thinking, she was more of an act now, think never kind of gal.

She follows her heart in everything she does.

Right now, it was screaming.

She stared at Law and smiled. He looked surprised. Luffy wanted to laugh, really. It should be her acting that way. This came out of nowhere.

She had no idea why.

She wanted to ask yet she doesn't want to hear him say she wasn't enough.

Brown eyes met grey ones and Law avoided her gaze. Luffy smiled softly to herself, why didn't she notice?

This wasn't the Law she spent three years of her life with. The man she fell in love with. She was too focused and ecstatic on meeting him that she didn't notice the way Law looked at her now. There was that blank look he used before, walking around in the hallways of the school not giving a damn about others.

She couldn't rely on her heart right now.

She wanted to fight for their relationship, she wanted to but what for?

Fondness, affection and love was nowhere to be found.

Though she could see a little guilt. He shouldn't feel guilty. Law was being honest. It hurts but that was nice of him. This was all her fault, she didn't give enough.

But how much was enough?

The somber mood on the table cracked when a red-haired woman wearing something that seemed to be worth ten times her apartment pulled the chair on their table. She sat beside Law, placing her dainty hand on his lap casually.

Law's lips quirked up at the girl presence, something Luffy knew was once only for her.

"Oh." Luffy exhaled slowly. She understands now.

"You must be Luffy, I've heard a lot about you. I'm Amber." She extended her frail manicured hand.

Luffy unconsciously took the hand and shook it as if she was meeting a friend. She felt numb. Her brain was sent into overdrive, she basically let her body do as it pleases.

Luffy stared at the two people in front of her.

What happened? What did she ever do wrong for her to experience something like this? Was she evil in her past life?

Did she kill someone to get punished this much? For her heart to hurt so badly.

She thought if the meat had run out of stock in the entire world, she would feel as shitty as this. She shook her head and chuckled softly. Same old Luffy, how could she think of meat when her boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, just broke up with her and introduced another woman.

She was falling apart, she braced herself and tried her hardest not to show it in her face no matter how many times her friends always called her out for being a shitty liar.

It hurt, it hurt so much. But she got to try.

"I hope they're all good things." She said, her voice started to quiver and she bit the inside of her lip.

"Oh, they all are." The woman chuckled. She leaned against Law, laying her head on his shoulder. The urge to punch the woman was at its peak. Yeah she could do that, she could punch her face and Law's face too.

That sounded like a good idea.

But she never wanted to hurt Law.

Never wanted to see him frown because of her.

Turned out it was only her who felt that way huh.

Luffy felt her phone vibrate on her leg. She thanked whoever texted her, she didn't know what to do. She wanted to leave. She doubted if she lied, Law and the woman would believe.

She clenched her fist before she unlocked her phone. "Ah, Ace wants me to go home early, apparently Sabo's returning from his trip." She looked straight at the couple in front of her.

She stood up and shrugged her shoulders. "It was nice seeing you again, Law... You too Amber." She took a deep breath and forced her legs to move away from that table.

Move away from pain.

Cause it hurt.

It hurts.

She wanted to cry.

She couldn't cry now, she wouldn't. At least not in front of them.

She would go out of this cafe just like how she entered, a happy and sunny Monkey D. Luffy, full of vibrancy and warmth.

"Thank you for everything." She finally said and she knew it was heartfelt and she knew Law felt that judging by those wide grey eyes.

She started walking, never looking back.

Makino was calling after her but the ringing in her ears blocked everything. Her head was spinning and she wanted to leave the cafe as soon as possible.

Away from Law, away from that red-haired woman, away from everyone.

She just wanted to be alone.

The moment she stepped out of the place, tears fell on her cheeks. She wiped them with her wrists, she doesn't want to cry but the tears kept falling. She couldn't hold it in anymore. It hurt.

She started running and she didn't even know where she was going.

It didn't matter, anywhere far from this place would be fine.

Makino stood at the entrance of her cafe, her heart reaching out for her precious little Luffy. She had never seen the young woman looked so heartbroken.

She barged her way into the veranda ignoring the growing onlookers. Nosy little bastards, she thought. She hoped they didn't see Luffy breakdown in the front of her cafe, the girl doesn't need the whole town to have a show out of her heartbreak.

She stomped towards Law's table and she saw him flinch while the woman was oblivious to Makino's mood, smiling at her.

Good he better be scared because he had no idea how mad she was right now. How dare he. How dare he break Luffy's heart.

She didn't' deserve any of this.

She wanted to scream at him, throw profanities at the kid. Yet her heart's resolve crumbled at the image of Luffy trying to hold her tears. Smiling through the pain she was experiencing.

"You." she said solemnly, pointing her finger at Law. "Don't you ever return to this place again. I don't want to see you around here."

"I'm sorry-"

"I don't need your apology, Law. Take your _friend _out of my cafe."

The young man remained quiet.

"Why Law? All she ever did to you was love you wholeheartedly." She sniffed and pointed at the door. "Leave please, before my common sense leaves me and drag you and your fancy little friend out of here."

The man stood up along with the red-haired woman, who looked flabbergasted. Law bowed and walked towards the exit.

"Wait." She added and Law turned around only to feel the impact of Makino's slap on his cheek. It resounded inside her cafe making the other guests gasp.

"That's for breaking her heart, asshole."

God, she felt great, the shock on the red-haired woman's face was priceless. Makino wanted to see Law's face full of bruises. She didn't give a damn if she gets a lawsuit the next morning. That bastard deserves it.

No one hurts Luffy and gets to leave unscathed.

Law glared at her but walked out of the cafe, leaving the astounded audience behind.

Makino looked around. Of course, the customers were all looking like giraffes with their necks extended just to see some drama.

"What are you all looking at? If you're all done eating, pay and leave!"

The woman groaned.

Great.

Now the whole damn town would hear about this.

* * *

Lots of thanks to D_E_A for being super nice and editing this chapter for me.

I'm looking over my other fic and planning to rewrite everything. Hopefully i'll get to that soon.

Thanks again for reading!

Updates will be coming 3


	2. Chapter 2

"Luffy! You need to get out." Ace knocked on the door anxiously, hoping his sister would answer.

He knocked once more and waited. Still nothing.

He tried to turn the knob - again, he lost count of how many times he did that after nearly an entire day standing in front of the bedroom, waiting patiently, he continued to knock while calling out her name. Ace's voice was already hoarse and his knuckles throbbed as he sighed against the door, forehead thumping against the wooden barricade.

Maybe he'll grow a horn and impale that asshole.

Sighing, he leaned his back against the door and slid slowly until he sat down on the floor, he thumped his head softly against the wooden door, "Lu, please."

Last time he checked, this thing only happened on sad music videos he watched on YourTube.

After the almost heart attack he had when Luffy didn't come home and didn't respond to his and Sabo's phone calls; Ace was so close to calling his grandfather and mobilizing a search team to find her sister. Marco, his brothers and Luffy's friends — bless them — were such big help as they searched the town and asked people whether they saw Luffy around. For crying out loud, the town wasn't even _that_ big, Luffy couldn't have gone out of town without telling her brothers or her friends where she was going. Praise Sabo for always being the levelheaded brother, one he could always count on when stress and concern overwhelmed Ace's rightful thinking, Ace found her in the tree house they made when they were younger. She was already asleep, curled up hugging her blanket. He moved the worn blanket covering her face only to find her swollen eyes and tear streaked face. Her nose was still red from crying and Ace almost jumped down from their tree house to find out who the hell made her sister cry.

He softly woke Luffy up so she can move to their apartment. Her body was cold and was shivering when he carried her home. Ace had given her hot coco to warm her up before he started asking his sister what happened but the girl was tight lipped. Ace and Sabo always made fun of Luffy when she was younger about being a crybaby but right that moment, it broke Ace's heart seeing her sister cry. She was quiet. She looked fragile as tears brimmed her hazel eyes, so not like the Luffy he grew up with. He ended up wishing it was the loud, obnoxious sobbing she always did when they were kids. When she was still that adorable little shit Ace and Sabo loved to tease and coddle. Not the girl crying her heart out in front of him.

No matter how hard Ace tried to pry off the details as to why she was sobbing, she never said anything. He let her cry. His poor sister was clinging onto him, leaning deeper into his chest; snot and tears dampening the front of his shirt. He had never felt so helpless as he hugged her all the tears she shed, exhaustion finally caught up with Luffy and ended up falling asleep hugging him. Ace called Marco and informed him that Luffy was home and that she was safe. He left the details, nobody needed to know that she was sobbing, doesn't matter if Marco was his boyfriend.

Turned out he didn't need to hide anything. He was the only one who didn't know what happened.

And it all made sense now — why his sister was inconsolable.

Ace was livid.

He was right from the start. He never trusted that guy. Sabo might have been bewitched but not him. He knew that guy was an asshole. A sister-stealing son of a bitch. He only stopped his constant nagging when Luffy asked him to understand her, _to trust_ her because she _sees_ what Law really was.

Look where that brought her.

Ace once questioned her choice in friends but they turned out to be trustworthy, they value Luffy like family. He saw how she attracts people in different walks of life, saw how they bare their souls to her, open up and became family.

Ace never doubted her after that.

God, he loves his sister. Cherishes her with all of his being. Both him and Sabo would offer their lives for hers, bend their will for hers. He wished he argued more. If he did, this would've never happened. Luffy would've never hurt this much.

Ace would love to give the asshole a piece of his mind, a few fractured bones, a broken nose and a split lip. That bastard was lucky Sabo came home the exact moment Ace was about to leave their home and tear that motherfucker apart. Even Sabo, the mantle of common sense, lost his composure seeing Luffy's state.

"_Let me fucking go, Sabo! I want to see that bastard _hurting!_"_

_ "You are not leaving this place, I don't want you to end up in jail!"_

_ "Oh trust me, I don't give a fuck if I end up in jail."_

_ "You think Luffy will be happy with that, Ace? You think she'd be overjoyed that you took revenge because of her? Ace, think!"_

_ "I am thinking! I'm thinking that _that_ fucker needs how to know much pain Luffy is in!"_

_"Look, Ace. I'm mad too. I wanna beat something _—_someone. It hurts seeing her like this Ace, it hurts. But she wouldn't want anyone, even Law, to get hurt because of her. Let's _— _let's just stay here, calm ourselves down and wait for her to wake up and be there for her. She needs us Ace... More than ever."_

"Lu, please. You need to eat." Ace knew it was really bad considering how much of a glutton his sister was.

He heard someone sigh and he looked up. Sabo was leaning against the wall, looking as haggard as him, blond hair going off into every direction, dark shadows below his blue eyes.

"Any progress?" the blond asked, raking his hands through his hair, back sagging.

Ace shook his head, frowning.

They would've never be in this situation if only Luffy didn't "fall in love". Ace was never worried about it, even laugh at Marco's grumbling about his younger siblings falling in love and how he has to ward of suitors because she never said it otherwise, she was outright honest about what she feels and praise thee she never mentioned romantic love.

She just didn't get it. She didn't see why love had to be labeled. Love is love. That was it. She loved everyone – her friends, family.

Everything in Ace's radar was peaceful…

Until that asshole came.

Sabo lumbered towards the door and sat down beside Ace, legs crossed. They remained silent for a while until they heard soft footsteps on the other side of the door. Ace and Sabo looked at each other, wide eyed. They scrambled on their feet and faced the bedroom door in a flash. Light thudding came closer. Both Ace and Sabo held their breaths as the footsteps halted in front of the door. Softly, the door creaked and cracked open revealing puffy eyes, red nose and messy short raven hair.

Both brothers immediately hugged their little sister. They stood there for a long time, hugging each other, rubbing Luffy's back, trying to soothe the ache she was feeling. Ace promised he would never let anyone hurt her sister again and he knew Sabo thought the same too. Ace led her back to her bed, letting her sit as Sabo crouched in front of Luffy.

"Hey Lu, I'm home," Sabo said. "I missed you a lot, no one was being noisy and loud at that place, and it was boring. The food was terrible too, imagine that? I should've just stayed and binged watch JoJo's Bizzare Adventures with you and Ace."

"Or we could've played Smash Vros," Sabo's voice lowered into a whisper, "we both know Ace sucks at it though."

"Hey!" Ace pouted. He heard Luffy snort and it was a breath of fresh air.

"You're very strong Luffy, you're amazing. Ace and I both love you so much. I know everything sucks right now but you're gonna pass this 'cause you're awesome and incredible. You can beat everything and kick your way through life." Luffy started to sniffle, Sabo immediately encased her in his arms, pulling her close and hugging her tight.

"It's okay to cry Lu, its okay. We're here for you."

Ace solemnly looked at his siblings. Sabo got this. Ace headed back to the door, pressed the light and took in the condition of their room and groaned internally. The bed was messy, the sheets were lying all crumpled up into one big nest. Clothes were haphazardly scattered everywhere, some hanging on the cabinet and even thrown near the window. Tissues full of snot were all over the floor and Ace couldn't help but cringe at the amount of junk food containers poking under the bed. Where did she even get those?

Ace sighed as Sabo pulled Luffy up. "You stink, Lu." Sabo snickered as Luffy defensively groaned. "A'm not." She replied hoarsely, scrunching her red nose, lips pouting a bit and giving Sabo a stinky eye.

She looked ridiculous.

Ace could hug her to death.

"I'll be right back," He said, running towards their small kitchen which had seen better days. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and ran back to their bedroom.

"Here." Ace offered the bottle Luffy, nudging her to drink it. He scrunched his nose. Huh, he didn't smell that at the door while they hugged. Man, feelings were trippy. "Sabo's right, you stink. Off to the bathroom with you."

"Told you." Sabo said smugly, giving Luffy the tongue.

"You guys are being mean. I'll tell grandpa." Luffy croaked.

On chorus, Ace and Sabo rolled their eyes. "As if."

And god, was it a blessing to hear and see her laugh again.

Sabo gently draped his arms on Luffy's shoulders, leading her to the bathroom. She started to squirm as her muddled mind caught up with Sabo's plan. She planted her foot on the floor, leaned back, trying to pull Sabo away from the bathroom.

"Lu, you need to clean up. You smell like shit –"

"And I feel like shit, Sabo." She added, softly sniffling. She paused and stopped her fruitless attempt to pull her brother away from the bathroom.

Sabo groaned as he turned the valve for the hot water to flow. He clicked his tongue. "Language, young lady. What did Ace teach you while I was away?"

"You did say it too." She accused, pouting slightly.

"No, I didn't. What are you talking about?" He casually denied, chuckling at the betrayed look she had.

"Come on, a hot bath will help. Now strip off and I'll prepare clean clothes on your bed. We're going out and buying all the meat you want, kay?"

Luffy suddenly started sniffing again and her body sagged against the wall in their bathroom, big drops of tears flowed out of her dark eyes. Sabo softly wiped his sister's cheeks with his hand.

Right, this was going to take a while.

Leaving the bathroom door slightly opened, Sabo waited while Luffy took a bath just to make sure she doesn't end up collapsing and hurting herself. That happened before when she was in her normal state of mind, how much more if she was like _this_. He could hear his brother mumbling something about scattered clothes. He took a quick peek on their bedroom and saw Ace throwing whatever he deemed dirty into the laundry bin. He saw him zone his sight on the trash and narrowed his eyes at all the things hoarded in one corner. Ace picked a shirt out of the bundle and gagged. Sabo noticed all the smiley designs and knew it all came from Luffy's ex-boyfriend. Sabo chuckled as Ace casually dumped them all inside the trash bag and disinfected his hands.

Ace, dramatic as always.

Sabo shook his head. He'll have to check that, maybe the orphanage Koala volunteers at needed clothes for the kids.

The sound of squeaking valve made him turn around and saw Luffy coming out of the bathroom, towel barely covering herself. Sabo sighed, his sister needs to learn a little something about decency. He grabbed an extra towel from the folded stuff on Luffy's bed and threw it over her head.

Ace suddenly popped out behind them holding a trash bag, casually throwing it to him. Sabo caught it easily and gave Ace a questioning look. "Might want to give that to Koala." His brother replied making Sabo grin as he checked what was inside the bag.

Ace then pulled a white summer dress seemingly out of nowhere. "Lu, change into these."

Huh, who knew Luffy had those kind of clothes?

Sabo watched as Luffy resigned her fate to Ace as he shoved the dress in her arms. She dropped her towels and walked towards her room.

Ace and Sabo turned away and rolled their eyes, what were they going to do with their sister?

The siblings were walking down the bus station when people on the streets would glance at them, necks craning and eyes ever quick at checking their sister. They should probably apply for a security company, with their ability, they should be able to replace CCTV's. They would whisper to whoever was beside them when they siblings pass. Seriously, these people needed another hobby.

Ace glared at them. Sabo held Luffy's hand, swinging it back and forth. He placed her straw hat on her head and patted her gently, hat covering half of her face as she giggled.

Sabo looked at him sternly over Luffy's head and mouthed, "Let them be."

Ace huffed. "Fine." He mouthed back. Stomping his foot as they passed by people.

He looked at Luffy, he couldn't help but gush over her. She's pretty damn cute, okay? Ace had the right to gloat about that.

The white sundress Luffy wore made her look so innocent. He was glad she was smiling again — not as bright as before but it was progress. He'll be damned if he doesn't see that smile again. His sister deserved all the love and affection in the world.

Ace and Sabo will be more than willing to give it to her.

The trip was quiet, Luffy leaned against Ace's shoulder and grabbed Sabo's arm while the freckled man gently combed her raven hair with his fingers. They should probably invest in a car. Nothing fancy, just something they could use when going out. Taking the bus was becoming a hassle.

High Town Supermarket was buzzling with people as the trio arrived. Ace choose the largest push cart available and propped Luffy inside the cart ignoring the shocked stares of other customers and warnings from the staff. Sabo gladly pushed the cart along the aisles maneuvering through every person and corner. Ace grabbed the stuff they needed for their impromptu camping in his own cart.

Yep, they were going on a hike as soon as they were done with buying the stuff they needed and enjoy nature. Let their sister merge herself into a competitive camping trip with her brothers.

It sure is going to be chaotic and fun.

Who cares, chaotic and fun were their middle names.

Ace paused and snapped his head back, almost getting a whiplash as he heard his siblings' laughter ringing in the aisle overwhelming the dumb mall jingle that was on loop. Sabo and Luffy passed by him, the metal cart rattling as Sabo pushed it faster. "Git gud, Ace!" Luffy called out, laughing at a gaping Ace.

"Oh no, you don't." Ace gripped his cart hard and pushed it, catching up with Sabo and Luffy.

In the end they were stopped by the mall security and was guided to pay for the food and stuff they hoarded inside the cart, sheepishly and halfheartedly apologizing to the staff and security.

They may have been told that they'd be escorted _every time_ they shop there but meh.

It was totally worth it.

Days passed.

The siblings would invite Makino over and go the beach or even have a picnic together. Pranks were played between the three and Ace's poor boyfriend, Marco, was the unfortunate victim. The man just rolls his eyes, tired and used to all the bullshit the siblings drag him into.

He signed up to it the moment he started dating Ace.

Weeks passed.

Sabo would bring Luffy to the orphanage his girlfriend worked. Koala loved Luffy, the kids loved having her around. The playground of the orphanage was always booming with laughter while she was around.

Luffy's friends — Nami and Usopp — would come visit her when they didn't attend their university classes. They ended up attending a martial arts class much to the disappointment of Usopp, who wanted nothing to do with it. Nami, on the other hand, cheered —snicked at Usopp— as the class started sparring.

Months passed.

Luffy started being her usual self. The sunny, lovely, young lady Wind Mill knew.

She eventually went to college as she found her passion. Her martial arts instructor, Jinbei, endorsed her to Grand Line University's team and their coach eagerly took her in after watching one of her matches giving her a fully paid scholarship.

Nami and Usopp tutored her with the classes she almost failed. One would eventually learn and remember things when _Nami_ was their tutor.

_"But Nami, I'm starving." She said as she rubbed her belly, looking at the orange-haired woman with puppy dog eyes._

_Those were dangerous, Nami begrudgingly admitted. Too bad it doesn't work on her. "No." Luffy needed to finish her goddamn presentation._

_ "Damn it." Worth a shot Luffy thought._

_ "Luffy, language!" Sabo shouted from the living room._

_ "It was Nami!"_

The siblings ended up moving to Saboady, it was nearer the university Luffy attends. Nami and Usopp's dorms were near their new place too, making it easier for them to help Ace and Sabo look after her grades.

Weeks turned to months and months turned to years.

Luffy woke up in the middle of the night. She slid her legs over the side of the bed and smiled gently at her brothers snoring on the futons placed on the floor.

They had three bedrooms in their new apartment but old habits die hard. They still sleep in one room.

Luffy loved it, she loves knowing they were around.

As slowly and softly as she can, she slipped off the bed. Her bare toes touched the wooden floor and she pushed herself up. She headed towards the glass door that lead to the veranda in their bedroom that overlooked their new neighborhood.

The bright lights reminded her of the stars her and his brothers used to see back in Windmill. She looked up and gazed at the bright moon. She sighed and glanced once more at the two men lying on the floor. She huffed as she tiptoed to reach beam on the roof. Strong fingers exploring the area until she felt a box she had stashed there. She grabbed the box and blew off the dust it had accumulated. She smiled softly as she opened it, revealing a photo of the man she loves.

It had been years.

Glistening hazel eyes stared at the person smiling on the photo. It reminded her of the good times they both shared together. Beautiful grey eyes stared back at her.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath as her fingers slowly let go of the photo. Soft breeze carried it away from her. He was nothing but a memory, something she'll always treasure. Something she'll look back years from now and she'll smile through it all because what happened made her strong.

She can finally let go.

Her brothers were there for her. Nami, Usopp, Makino, her coaches Jinbei and Rayleigh, Marco and his brothers; even Dadan and Grandpa were there for her.

Her family.

They helped shaped who she was now.

The brave and strong, Monkey D. Luffy. Full of love, happiness and dreams.

There was a gentle shuffle on the floor and a sleepy voiced called out. Luffy turned around and hummed, acknowledging Sabo's call.

"What're you doin? Get back to bed, you have class tomorrow." He slurred, rubbing his eyes.

Ace squirmed in his futon, waking up and yawning. He patted the space between him and Sabo. Luffy shivered as the breeze of the island drifted, she closed the door and nestled between the warmth of her brothers, a soft smile on her face.

She was finally happy.

~~~x~~~

"Dare I say you look miserable?" A tall, blonde man with a black fluffy feathered coat said as he eyed the disheveled mess called his son. The man sighed ignoring the disdainful glare of the kid.

Yeah. This person, this "Surgeon of the Year" will always be a kid in his eyes. His kid. All things considered, he was proud of what his son had achieved after just five years in medical school.

Donquixote Rocinante leaned against the polished dark marble counter, located in the bar of their living room. He observed his son drinking whiskey. Drinking away years of misery. He should've listened to his father and uncle. Even if the said uncle was deranged in some ways. The blonde sighed. How was he supposed to deal with his son? His drinking was getting out of hand.

Five years ago they told him that he was making the worst choice in his life by letting go a certain sunny girl. It got blown into a rather upscale argument. Him and his brother Doffy versus a wild teen who just got his freedom back or so he says.

Roci and Doffy were awfully shocked when they heard the news. Doffy in a more creepy way considering he had a certain fascination with the girl. She was a walking wonder, he had once said.

They both loved Luffy.

Doffy was basically attached to the girl and almost acted like a doting father whenever she visits their home, no matter how creepy that was for Roci. She had the ability to crack open Law's deeper emotions. She was the opposite of Law, she balances Law.

She was perfect.

Yet the idiot, seriously, Roci admitted that his adoptive son was _in fact_ an idiot. Law got the brains, the look, but apparently there was a side effect and it was called stupidity. Roci knew exactly how things went down between the former couple and he wanted nothing more than to call Luffy and hug her tight. Which he actually did but the girl had changed her number or just didn't care to keep her phone on. He tried seeing Luffy personally but her brothers were adamant of their wishes to let the family of the person who broke his sister's heart stay the fuck away from their beloved sister.

Who knew the blond one, Sabo was it? Could act like _that._ It was an experience.

And honestly? Roci understood.

If he was in their position, he'd do more than just threaten the bastard who broke Luffy's heart. Knowing the impulsive attitude of one her siblings, Roci knew that Luffy had a huge role on keeping Ace on tab. Luffy was heartbroken and torn yet there she was, still thinking of Law's well-being considering there was no freckled man with murderous intent barging in their mansion's front door demanding bloodshed. Because for all he cares, Roci would let Ace beat the living daylights out of his son to gather up his haywire senses. Roci was even sure that Law's uncle Doffy would watch the scene unfold while sipping bourbon.

The blonde scratched his head.

What madness had his son done?


	3. Chapter 3

A couple of hours into checking the reports filed on his desk by his secretary, Doffy heard a soft knock on his office door. Whoever that was could wait, he already told Monet never to bother him when he was working on paper work. The idea of hiring someone to forge his signature and sign the papers was so much so he just might. He gazed out the large window of his office and for a moment the view released his tense form. On the second knock, he let out a heavy sigh while long fingers massaged the bridge of his nose. "Who is it?"

"Roci." Answered the voice, sounding as tired as Doffy felt.

"Come in."

Doffy neatly placed the fountain pen he used along with the papers he was about to sign on the table. For the moment, they could wait. Whatever he wanted to discuss must be important considering Roci, of all people knew all the rules in the house.

The door cracked open, blue eyes peeked through the gap, tufts of blond hair draped over half of his face. On a quick mental note, his brother needs a haircut and quick; or else a trip to the hospital it is. Motioning him to come in; the door opened fully and Rocinante stepped inside. Doffy watched as he occupied one of the three leather chairs surrounding a wooden coffee table in the middle of the room.

A long overdue sigh slipped from his lips as he plopped himself on Doffy's chair, shoulder's appearing to sag with the weight of the world. The sunlight from the stained glass windows decorating Doffy's office emphasized the dark shadows under his eyes. The older blonde sighed, now knowing exactly what brought his brother in his office. This was going to take a while.

Standing, he exhaled slowly and sat down opposite of his brother. He spread his arms out across the back, head leaning against the cushion. A long silence fell between them, punctuated only by Roci's long suffering sighs. Since his brother wasn't ready to speak, he stood up and headed to his liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of bourbon. He looked back and motioned if his brother wanted one, Roci shook his head and sighed again.

Well, his loss.

He sauntered back to his seat, sipping his drink. Here they go again. "Where is he?" He asked.

Cora took a deep breath. "In his room, finally asleep."

Doffy nodded and sipped more from his glass, waiting for the onslaught of complaints from his brother. They've spoken about this a copious amount of time that he had already memorized most of his brother's line.

"I don't know what to do with him." Cora started, sounding more than done with his son. "He's stubborn as a bull, he doesn't listen. He's destroying his health _and_ his life. He's acting so miserable and it's pitiful to look at." He sagged deeper into the leather chair. "I don't know how to get through his head without him walking out on me or just... I don't know, ignoring whatever I'm trying to say." He resigned.

"Ah." Came his unintelligent answer .

His brother sighed again.

"Today, I saw him looking at Luffy's photo." He added softly. Blond brow raise in question. "He was looking at it with a face I've never seen him wear in five years, Doffy. He...he looked so fond and then he would scowl and shove his phone on the counter like it burned him. I know he regrets what happened and I know I shouldn't be happy that my son's feeling guilty after all those years, but -"

Chair squeaking as he stood up - he needed to change them, these things were getting annoying – and returned his glass inside the cabinet and proceeded to his table. Turning on his laptop, he peered above the monitor and signaled his brother to continue.

"Uh. Where was I?"

"You, feeling happy over the kid's guilt." He supplied.

"Ah, yeah...yeah that...But you see, I am. I am happy that he knows he should regret it. It shows that he finally learned something... because Doffy, Luffy was good for him. She _is_ good for him."

He knew that alright, he liked the girl. She was something he hasn't seen before. There was something in her that fascinates him. He started typing on his laptop without looking at the keys and continued listening to his brother's woes. This is why he didn't get married and have kids – business partners were already giving him a headache; yet in the end he still gets dragged into his brother's problems. But they're family so he understands.

"And have you seen his tattoos? What kind of doctor has D.E.A.T.H tattooed on his fingers?" Roci added, exasperated.

"A brilliant one."

Roci sighed. "Are you on my side or his?"

"On this one?" He paused and tilted his head. "Law's. It's not harming him, let the kid have it."

"But he's a doctor! He saves people!"

Fingers stopped pressing the keys of his laptop for a moment then continued. "Has nothing to do with it, those are different things, Roci. He can have a tattoo of his dick on his face for all I care, and it still doesn't change the fact that he's an excellent doctor. Would probably raise people's eyebrows here and there but his credibility is still intact. He's the best at what he does, nobody can deny that."

Roci stared at him, scandalized. "What are you - .. You know what, don't let him hear that, he might just do it."

That seemed to have calmed down his brother, even for a little bit, who was now playing with the edge of the coffee table; eyeing for a moment to make sure no splinter goes inside his nail this time. He knows damn well how Roci was a magnet of disaster. He heard Roci curse as he stood up, rubbing his shin. He really needed to baby-proof the entire mansion for his brother.

"Reports?" The younger blond asked, limping towards his table.

He didn't reply. The tap-tap-tap sound of his keyboard sounding louder with the silence in the room. He sensed Roci pausing in front of his desk. He scrunched his nose.

Ah. Hello pot, meet kettle.

Sometimes he wonders if Law was really not Roci's biological son. Here he was talking about the kid's stubbornness yet he still hasn't stopped smoking that stick. How long had he asked him to stop using that thing? Ten years? Twenty? Who knows anymore? The older blond sighed.

Like father like son.

The smell of cigarette permeated in front of him. _Nose _drawn up and wrinkled, he grabbed a can of air freshener from inside his desk drawer and began spraying around him. Every time Roci took a swig of his cigarette, he sprays it again to get rid of the smell. He pushed himself a bit further from his desk and crouched, pulling something from below. With a loud thud, a fire extinguisher now sat on his table.

One blond eyebrow fell heavily onto his brother's eye, blinking then gazed at him in disbelief. "Not all of us wants to die early." He said casually.

His brother plodded to the window, like the sulking man-child that he is and threw open the window.

"Don't lean out, we don't want to pick you down there again." Roci huffed as he deliberately leaned heavily against the wall.

Doffy closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as fresh air circulated inside his office. One eye opening, he couldn't help but grin at the details displayed on his monitor. He pressed "enter" daintily and chuckled to himself.

"You... I know that face." Looking up he saw his brother looking at him with caution.

"Don't be silly Roci, of course you know my face. I'm your brother." He answered, rolling his eyes.

Rapid blinking, Roci quipped. "Don't try to bullshit me, I _know_ you."

He shrugged, biting his inner lip.

"What are you scheming, brother?" He asked, narrowing his blue eyes. He threw his cigarette out of the window, walked towards the desk and stood in front of it. He placed his hands on the table and leaned in, trying to loom over him.

Heh. Looked good, didn't work.

He splayed his hand over his chest, feigning hurt. "It pains me to know that you don't believe me, _brother_."

They stared at each other for a while until Roci finally gave up, back sagging and demeanor calming. "What are you planning, Doffy?" He asked tiredly.

He grinned maniacally. "Nothing you wouldn't want, Roci."

He knew his nephew messed up. It was unlike him, to be honest. The kid was logical, attentive to minute details, mind formulating plans after plans, and knows what situations benefits him the best. Most importantly he is loyal. He may show his affection through bluntness but that didn't stop Luffy from loving him. He should _know_ Luffy was good for him. And for whatever reason that they had to break up, he knew it wasn't worth it.

He watched Law suffered for years after their break up.

Did it give him satisfaction? Yes.

Was it cruel for him to feel that way? No.

Law's suffering was self-induced.

He doesn't exactly know what was going on in his nephew's brain, what the reason behind two hearts breaking yet Doffy knew what he felt towards Law's suffering was justified because the other party suffered more than Law did. He knew how excruciating it was to feel practically worthless and utterly rejected by someone they love. He too, was a teen once. But enough about him. Doffy liked Luffy, he thought it was stupid of Law; maybe his opinion didn't matter but that was him and he will stick with it.

It's about time he does something with his nephew's misery for the sake of his brother's sanity – and for his, really. One can only take so much of watching his brother neglect himself for his son. Law should have learned his lesson by now.

Careful not to make his laptop a casualty of Roci's disaster, he quickly pulled it back when the man scampered over his table. With his laptop balanced on his knees, he brought the screen up and showed Roci the screen. Roci's eyes were glued to the screen, jaw slacking. He examined the file, looked at him, and then back to the file displayed on the screen.

"A "thank you" would suffice brother," he said.

"But – b-but how? Are you sure about this? What would Law think if he found out? I think this is a bad idea! Don't you think this will make things worse? What are you—"

Doing abortive gestures with his hand, he said. "Relax would you? Everything's going to be fine."

"But how'd you know—"

"I just know." He grinned. "Trust me on this one."

He closed the file and placed his laptop back on the table. When he glanced back up at his brother, he couldn't help but burst out laughing. Shock, confusion, joy, excitement and utter dread flashed on Roci's face. Shoulders shaking, he wiped his eyes with his fingers and breathed deeply.

"Law's going to kill us," his brother said.

He had his elbow on the table, propping up his chin, a wide grin on his face. "I doubt that."

~~~x~~~

"I still can't figure out why you have to move out." Ace whined for the umpteenth time. His chin was propped at the edge of their kitchen counter, holding beer bottle on his left hand and a half-eaten pizza on his right.

"She already told you a million times, Ace." Sabo was the one who answered, he emerged from the kitchen dressed in a frilly baby pink apron with cute little ribbons on the hem.

Why on earth did Ace decided to buy that thing? She thought.

Sabo sat beside Ace, placed a mixing bowl on the counter and started mixing….stuff. She couldn't be bothered knowing what those are as long the food came out good. She gave up a long time ago dealing with _that._ One burnt frying pan and an alarming amount of smoke was enough for her poor brothers' hearts. Before she knew, she was already banned from the kitchen.

"She can stay here, this place has three rooms! I don't wanna live alone!" The freckled man grumbled, still brooding, lips pouting petulantly.

"Stop being dramatic, Ace," Sabo said. "Marco's with you. Haruta stays over sometimes. Technically, most of Marco's brothers are transient tenants of this apartment." The blond shook his head, probably tired of listening to Ace's whining. It never stopped since she told them she'd be moving out of their apartment and share a new one with her friends.

It had been five years since Luffy and her brothers moved, they were only shown photos of the apartment since it was one of Marco's dad's property. Ace trusts the man to know what the siblings needed so they didn't bother to check the property personally. However with Nami and Usopp, it was a _totally_ different matter. They had to check the houses themselves and decide. It was such an adult thing to do that Luffy wasn't sure if she should be entrusted with that.

Everything was fast-paced, mildly chaotic and utterly confusing.

The trio drove around Sabaody following the ads that Nami gathered from newspapers and online. Both she and Usopp weren't prepared for Nami's excruciating meticulousness. They found decent flats with decent rates but Nami always had something to say about it.

_"Too small."_

_ "The neighborhood's noisy."_

_ "Ugh, this place stinks."_

_"Excuse me? What you do mean twenty thousand beri for a month... Best we can give is seven thousand and that's divided by three."_

_Everything_ had to be perfect for her. And it almost drove her and Usopp to jump out of the car. Putting a bored Luffy and Usopp in one place is a recipe of chaos, Nami should've known that. They almost broke three windows and a glass door for goofing around. In the end, both her and Usopp were thrown out of the house by a screeching Nami and was told to reflect on their actions. She wondered how Nami survived having Usopp and her around all those years.

It took them three long suffering days to find the "perfect" apartment according to Nami's standards. The only consolation for her after all the trouble they went through was she gets to live above a high-end restaurant.

The closer the food, the better.

It was a two-storey beach front building. The first floor was a famous restaurant in Sabaody, the Baratie. She barely listened to details, – leasing agreements and what not, she knew Nami can handle that – being near mouthwatering food was enough for her to vote yes to living there. She had no idea how Nami convinced – swindled – the owner into paying less than half of what the ad mentioned. But it was Nami after all, she expected no less. They get to live with two other tenants but it didn't seem like an issue for Nami considering all the gushing she did while checking the place.

"What about me, Luffy? What about me? Aren't you gonna miss your big brother?" Ace added earning an elbow to his rib from Sabo.

"Won't you miss me?" He fluttered his lashes, looking like a kicked puppy.

Sabo rolled his eyes. He then stared at Luffy and mouthed: _"This is never going to end."_

She chuckled. She hopped over the box she was sorting and walked towards the counter. Snaking her arms around her brothers' necks, she squished them into a semi-hug.

"You're gonna kill us, Lu." Sabo croaked, easing her grip from his neck.

"Of course I'm gonna miss both of you." It saddened her to leave his brothers but she has to grow on her own now. Ace and Marco's wedding was right around the corner and newlywed couples needed a place of their own according to Nami. Sabo and Koala were already planning for theirs too, in fact, Sabo moved out even earlier than Luffy. She was excited for both of them. Her brothers were finally thinking of their own happiness and not hers. She wanted them to be happy, they deserve more than that for being the best brothers she could ever ask for.

"And I'm just an hour away from you guys, you can come visit me anytime." She added and kissed their cheeks.

"I gotta hurry." She went back to her boxes and continued packing. "Nami will kill me if I'm not done yet by the time they get here." She grabbed a bunch of shirt from the couch and folded it properly - as properly as she could - and placed it inside her luggage. She grabbed another shirt and rolled it, furrowing her eyebrows confused whether she should just roll everything or fold them neatly. She raised her hands in utter surrender and groaned. She glared at all her stuff and frowned.

"I low key don't want to help you so you change your mind." Ace mumbled.

"Come on." Sabo said. He dragged Ace towards the cluster of clothes on the couch. "Stop being a brat."

x

They finished packing after an hour of hearing more of Ace's whining and taking out her clothes from boxes instead of putting it in. Good thing she didn't have much belongings to begin with and her new place was fully furbished. Sabo ushered her to take a bath while he finishes the dish he was cooking while Ace remained moping on the couch, pulling at loose threads.

Lathered with soap suds in the middle of taking a bath, her mind wandered to the email she received from work about a transfer. She frowned, she was sure she didn't mess up anything this time. The kids settled well with her, loved her in fact. She enjoyed working there but she couldn't neglect the other kids that needed her help in that new place. She just hates saying goodbye to the kids, it was the hardest part of her job.

After graduating, she immediately worked in the orphanage her soon to be sister-in-law's organization was funding. It wasn't really directly related to her degree nor high paying but offering physical therapy to the kids recovering from sickness made it rewarding. Their bright smiles and warm hugs were the best payment. She blew the fluffy suds she gathered in her hands, watched as they swirled down the drain. "I'll give it a go then."

Instead of taking a quick shower like she was told to, she played with her long black hair, forming different hairstyles and giggling as she stared at it on the mirror. She was trying to make all her hair stand up when he heard Sabo's voice through the trickling water. Opening the shower door slightly, she poked her soaking head and called out. "What?"

"I said, Nami and Usopp's here!"

"Okay! I won't be long!" She replied.

"Crap." She muttered, ducking under the shower, freeing herself from the remaining shampoo on her hair. Deeming herself sud-free, she toweled herself rapidly, wringing her hair as she looked around for her clothes. And of course, she forgot them. Groaning, she tied her towel tightly around her body. She stormed out of the bathroom towards her bedroom. Nami and Usopp was talking to Sabo, ignoring Ace who was moping on the couch as she dashed through the living room.

"Hey guys! I'll change real quick and we can go!" She beamed at her friends and rushed to her room to change. The tap-tap-tap of rushed footsteps echoed in the apartment. She arrived in her room and smacked herself when she couldn't find her clothes. She rushed back to the living room and retrieved a red button up shirt and shorts from her "moving bag". "I forgot these," she said as she lifted her clothes. Widely grinning as Nami let out an exasperated sigh.

"Some things never change." She heard Usopp mutter as she ran back to her room.

Hopping on one foot then the other, she jammed her leg on her shorts. She tossed her wet hair over her shoulders. Huffing, she slipped her shirt over her head and dragged it in one go. She buttoned up her red shirt and pulled her shorts up.

"Okay, I'm done." She said grinning. Breathing heavily with how quick she clothed herself and rushing back to the living room, hair dripping on the floor. Nami looked at her unimpressed, hands crossed over her chest. She opened her teal handbag and pulled out a hair dryer. She stood up and dragged Luffy into the couch, letting her sit down as she dried her hair. "What am I going to do with you?" She sighed.

"Thanks Nami, we'd be worried if you weren't looking after her." Sabo said.

She pointed her hair dryer at them threateningly, eyeing both Ace and Sabo. "You both better hire me as your wedding planner."

"Of course, of course." Sabo said with a placating smile on his face.

x

Forty five minutes later, the group headed to the moving truck Usopp rented carrying Luffy's boxes, loading them at the back of the gray pickup truck. Nami and Usopp, were waiting in the truck, giving Luffy time to say goodbye to her brothers. The siblings stood in front of their apartment, looking at the building where they spent five precious years together. She was finally heading out on her own. All the memories she shared with her brothers in this place would forever be embedded in her heart.

"I can't believe you're moving out." Ace sniffled. "You're a grown up now, where was my baby Luffy huh? Where was that snotty little girl following me and Sabo around Dadan's cottage and into the forest? Give her back." He added, gently nudging her shoulders with his hands.

"We'll miss you, Lu. Give us a call, alright?" Sabo added, patting her head.

She nodded, feeling teary herself. "I'm gonna miss you both so much. I promise I'll call." She pulled them into a bear hug. They remained hugging for a while until Nami honked at them, long orange hair swaying in the wind as she poked her head out of the passenger's seat.

"Let's go, chop chop Luffy! We don't have all day!"

"We were having a moment, Nami!" Ace groaned.

Luffy giggled as she squished her brothers one more time. "All right, I'm going now. I love you both."

"We love you too, Lu."

She got in the car, her heart felt heavy but she had to do this. Nami held her hand and squeezed it, she can't help but grin, squeezing it back. Usopp started the engine and drove. She waved until all she could see of her brothers were tiny dots.

Five minutes into the drive, Luffy's phone rang. Usopp lowered the volume of their music as she answered.

"Hey Ace!"

Nami groaned banging her head on the dashboard. "Oh come on!"

* * *

Thank you D_E_A (that's her AO3 handle, check her out, she's awesome!) for editing this again.


	4. Chapter 4

Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Trafalgar D. Water Law, stormed out of the president's office with tension visible on his shoulders while muttering curses to himself.

This bullshit started exactly a week ago and it was driving him insane.

"Relaxing, my ass." He scowled at every human being that passed him along the hallways of the hospital. He didn't need "help" like what his traitor of a father and insane uncle _thoughtfully_ implied with their little stupid intervention bullshit.

He was peachy, fine, a bright ray of sunshine. _Thank you very much._

He fucking knew something was up the moment he woke up and the curtains were pulled open, his father oddly still and uncle grinning like a madman standing on the doorway, blocking his only escape.

"_Ah dear nephew, isn't it such a good morning?" His uncle said, sounding too loud and too cheerful –totally creepy– for his liking. _

_Law turned away from the blinding light coming from the outside world. This was not the right time to deal with whatever they wanted. Actually he takes that back, there was never a time to deal with whatever they wanted._

_He covered himself with his comforter and sank back on his bed. "Go away."_

"_No can do." Huh. That was his dad's voice. The comforter was pulled off from his being and his dad's face was the only thing he could see through the blur and disassociation of barely waking up, mouth quirked and blue eyes twinkling with giddiness. _

_Someone's excited, he thought. Never mind that he was ruining Law's sleep or possibly ruining his entire day. What a lovely family he has._

_He couldn't be bothered knowing the reason, he just wanted to sleep – for once – and enjoy his day off after a grueling thirty-six hour shift._

_His dad peered at him over the blanket. Tugging the sheets he tried to cover his face with._

"_Alright, alright. I'm getting up." He grumbled. He stretched his arms and legs._ _The streaks of sunlight from the window_ _warmed his muscle as he sat up, mind still on the edge of sleep._

"_Just –__ just give me five minutes." He collapsed back onto his bed, lying unmoving, grey eyes blinking at his room's black painted ceiling._

_A couple minutes passed, Law sat up.__ Grey eyes narrowing, observing the intruders. __His father beamed, smile almost reaching ear to ear and sat at the edge of the bed. Law should probably tell him to move to the center of the bed before he fa– _

_His dad yelped, slipping off the bed and landing on his ass on the floor. Law groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, he needed caffeine for this._

"_I'm okay, I'm okay," his father said as he pushed himself off the floor. He raised his hands to show Law that he was okay._

"_What do you want?" The faster he could deal with… with whatever this was, the faster he could go back to sleep, or at least try to sleep._

_Heeled shoes click-clacked against wood drawing near his bed. "I'm giving you a week's worth of vacation." He uncle casually said, one hand on his hip and casually checking his nails on the other._

_Law looked impassive at his uncle. Did he hear that right? A week? A fucking week? Where was that when he asked for it a month ago? _

_Un-fucking-believable._

_Silence fell over the room, both men stared at Law waiting for a reaction. Law eye's focused on their seemingly carefree faces._

_Nearly a full minute passed before he spoke again. "Why?"_

"_Because you need it, you look like you'll keel over anytime, Law." His dad helpfully supplied, brows slightly frowning with concern as his eyes scanned Law's appearance._

_He didn't have the heart to be an ass to his uncle, when his dad clearly was trying to get support to look after him. The man was worried, Law knew. It had been an endless tug of war, arguing over his habits and it obviously was affecting his dad._

_Maybe it was time to listen to his old man._

_He sighed, resigning to his fate. "Okay, I'll take it."_

He still vividly remembers his uncle's manic grin when he took the offer. He had no other person to blame but himself. Maybe it was his dad's concern or the fact that they ambushed him while he was half-asleep that he dove in without grinding them for specific reasons why he magically has a week's worth of free time when his uncle had given him straight shifts for months.

That sadist.

Now here he was fucking regretting everything and questioning himself for falling into their obvious, stupid trap. He should've listened to the blaring alarms in his brain.

Forcing himself to take a step as he inched closer to his demise, Law pushed the double glass doors.

He stood in the doorway taking in the colors he got used to after six days. Painted skies of pastel blue and white decorated the left wall where tables and chairs not even a quarter of Law's height were placed facing light blue wooden shelves filled with children's books.

Three walls were painted with murals of rainbows, flowers, grass, mountains and trees. Opposite of the mini-library was a corner filled with stuffed animals – monkeys, dolphins, bears and bunnies.

Childish squeals and laughter echoed in the room, headache already starting at his temple as he watched kids run, climb, and bounced around each other.

He closed his eyes and counted mentally.

_Three…_

_Two…_

_One…_

An eerie silence filled the room and sent shivers down Law's spine. Seven pairs of curious eyes stared at Law. The moment they realized it was him, the onslaught of screaming and pitter patter of tiny feet rushed towards him.

Law quickly grabbed the scruff of a kid's shirt as he skid past him, almost crashing into the wall. Unfortunately for Law, he didn't want to see the kid hurt himself. Law put him back on his feet as the other kids ran after him in a much slower pace.

"Whoa, Dr. Law, you're so cool!" They said in unison as they looked at him with pure awe and admiration.

He hated this.

x

After nearly two agonizing hours, Law heard laughter at the door.

"Man, I still can't believe that I'd see the day the _Surgeon of Death_ would watch over kids." Sachi said, clutching his stomach as he tried to settle himself looking at Law become a moving jungle bar.

"Yeah? How 'bout I end it today?" Law grouched, glaring at his grinning co-worker.

"Heyyyy, chill snow white, you don't want to set a bad example with these young, innocent minds, do you?" Penguin added, snickering.

"I swear, when I'm done here, your families won't ever find a single trace of your bodies." He seethed. He was so done with this shit.

"Now that doesn't make me happy giving you the news. I might have a sudden onset of short term amnesia and forget about it." Penguin replied, picking up an alphabet block on the floor, not put down by Law's surly attitude.

Law glared at him. The bastard...

"You don't really look scary when you have kids clinging on your limbs, doc. You should probably, ya' know, settled down, get married and have kids." He paused and shrugged. "Or whichever, doesn't really matter which comes first. Probably lessen that grumpiness."

"Why the fuck are you idiots here?" He whispered.

Shachi cooed, shaking the other man's shoulder. "Awww, Peng, look! Look at him. Isn't he adorable trying not to curse around the kids?"

Law settled the kids down one by one telling them to go play with the alphabet and number blocks he brought the other day. They scrambled to the mini-library.

Law turned around, cracking his knuckles, grinning as he took his precious time walking towards Shachi and Penguin who squeaked and pushed each other, backing away from Law's murderous aura.

"What were you idiots saying again?"

"It was Penguin's idea doc! I swear."

"Please don't kill us, we still want to see our future kids."

Law scoffed. "Like anyone would want to produce your offspring. God forbid that." Seriously, why did he choose these idiots to be his friends? "Where's Bepo?"

Shachi's teasing mood immediately vanished as kicked the air. "He's the lucky bastard who was tasked to accompany the new staff for the kids."

Law looked up and thanked whatever gods for this blessing. He was finally free.

"See what great news we brought you doc? Now you owe use coffee."

Law paused and shrugged. He might as well indulge these idiots.

x

So coffee was delayed while Law, Shachi and Penguin waited for the new personnel to take over Law's burden.

Shachi and Penguin ended up as guinea pigs for the kids' games.

Law calmly watched as the duo experienced what he had suffered for the entire week as he leaned against the wall. He watched closely as the kids started running and jumping over his stupid friends, giggling and squealing. He wouldn't want the kids to get hurt, it was a part of his job after all. He might have been forced to do this, but he doesn't half-ass whatever job he was supposed to do.

One or two stepped on Penguin's face. Law smirked while the duo looked at him pleadingly. They could take more, Law had the right to let them taste their own medicine.

Not so funny now huh.

Bepo seemed to be taking his damn time briefing the newcomer. He really needed caffeine and he'd rather have Bepo around to diffuse Sachi and Penguin's stupidity unless he wanted to end himself. Also, simply talking to his uncle seemed to have drained all the effects of the coffee he drank prior their encounter. The kids didn't help either.

He was about to leave Shachi and Penguin to get some coffee for himself – quickly, he couldn't trust Shachi and Penguin with the kids – when the door opened.

Bepo was busy chatting cheerfully with another person that he didn't seem to notice Law leaning against the wall beside the door.

"I heard coach talking about a cross-dojo training again this year, you should try and check it out. Rayleigh's gonna be there. It's going to be awesome!" Law overheard him say and saw him pumping his clenched fist up. And by the looks of it, whoever he was talking had a tad shorter and less bulky stature compared to Bepo.

He couldn't really see what they look like. Yet he had this gnawing curiosity to check it out.

Bepo was shy, Law hadn't heard him talk to anyone he just met as jovially as he was right now. Bepo never mentioned someone he knew was going to work in the hospital either.

Turned out he didn't need to see to know who they were.

"Shishishi. That sounds like fun, Bepo!"

Everything seemed to halt the moment he heard it.

The children's giggling, Shachi and Penguin's obnoxious whining, even Bepo's cheerful voice seemed to fade.

Only laughter resounding inside the room, inside his head, squeezing his heart.

Half of him wanted nothing more than to flee or at the very least burry himself on the ground. The other half wanted to walk up to her, pull her close and feel her in his arms.

But he couldn't move.

It's as if his feet were glued to the ground, heart trying to punch its way out of his chest.

She turned around swiftly as if sensing Law's presence behind her. He was slightly worried, that movement was too fast for her neck to be healthy. She looked up at him, eyes reminding Law of the coffee he so terribly needed.

She had grown two or three inches since the last time he saw her. Still a head shorter than himself but she still had that air around her that makes her look like she was the tallest person in the room.

"_Yeah, when was the last time you saw her, Law? Excluding the times when you were drunk and miserable, stalking her social media. When was it, Law?"_ He asked himself.

"_Five years ago. You know, when you made broke her heart because you were a_ coward." His brain eagerly supplied.

Photos couldn't really capture how vibrant she was in person. Her warm hazel eyes were blown wide in surprise. He wasn't expecting the sudden crinkling of the corner of her eyes as she smiled brightly at him.

At Law.

Her _ex-boyfriend_.

The guy who broke her heart.

Her raven hair was tied in a messy bun, – she never grew it out nor tied it before–dark strands swaying with her movement, lightly touching her cheek.

His fingers twitched, faintly reminiscing tracing the scar below her eye.

The flamingo pink scrub she wore was a little baggy for her slender body. Her arms were toned and skin tanned, a little darker than they were younger. She had lost the baby fat around her jaw, making it look thinner and defined. She looked more mature yet the light and youthful aura around her was the same.

She was as simple as before.

Her beauty was unassuming.

And Law still finds her absolutely beautiful.

He knew he was staring. He knew he'll get shit from Shachi and Penguin but he didn't care.

_Just this once_ _–_ he thought.

Just this once, he wanted to soak up her features. Remember all her flaws and how they attributed to her perfection.

Her bravery, fearlessness, warmth and selflessness.

Her simplicity… Her happiness.

He let her slip through. He _missed _so much.

Luffy laughed again.

Grey eyes blinked. He felt warm. By the looks of Penguin and Shachi gawking faces, his cheeks were flushed.

"Law!" She beamed.

It dawned to him how much he deprived himself from happiness. He wants her back.

"_Luffy._" He heard himself answer. He couldn't tell how he sounded but Bepo was looking at him with a face he couldn't decipher.

"I mi" _–_

One by one, the kids started gathering around her. She blinked, head titled, brows a little furrowed. Law saw small hands tug at her shirt.

"Hey, hey! What's your name?" They started, like little crows asking for food.

Smiling at him once more, she turned around and crouched.

"Hey guys, I'm Luffy!" She answered brightly.

x

The kids' interest and curiosity with the new face present in the room thankfully stopped Law from embarrassing himself. What the fuck was he thinking?

"Get a grip, Trafalgar." He mumbled, sitting in the far corner of the hospital cafeteria, drinking his second cup of coffee now that Luffy had taken over the pediatric room and declaring it her turf. The kids gladly "banished the monsters" from their land for their princess, gleefully smacking the men with the animal plushy lying around the room.

Here he was, believing them when they called him the prince.

Traitors.

Bepo sat beside him, scrolling through his phone. Turned out he wasn't supposed to be on duty today but Doflamingo had requested him to brief Luffy with the hospital rules and work she had to do in the pediatric department.

"What?" He slowly turned his head towards Shachi and Penguin who were sitting on the table behind him. The stupid duo had their own little "circle of the betrayed" – Shachi's words, not his – rambling on and on about how Law and Bepo had betrayed them by keeping Luffy's existence from their knowledge.

"I understand why she would know you." Penguin rudely pointed at Law. "You're handsome, those grey eyes attract women from another planet if it was possible," he paused, "that smirk too. I swear you're only doing it to get women to flock over you, doc."

The idiot beside him nodded in agreement. "What I don't get is, why on earth does she knew Bepo too! I'm more handsome than Bepo!" Penguin added, sounding dejected and frustrated, absolutely questioning the universe with the tragedy happening in his life.

"Sorry." Bepo said, making himself seem smaller.

"You don't need to apologize for Shachi and Penguin's stupidity Bepo." Law gave them the finger and added, "Bepo's more attractive than both of you combined and he's not an idiot. So that's more than enough reason for Luffy to know him."

He still finds it unsettling to say her name outside the confines of his own room. He felt like he lost the right with what he did.

After scrutinizing his own reaction inside the room, without adrenaline pumping in his veins, Law could still admit that he wants her back in his life. Wants her beside him again. It was going to be hard. Closer to impossible even, but Law realized his father and uncle – begrudgingly – were right.

He wasted his life acting miserable, when he could have had everything with her.

He ran his tattooed fingers through his hair, tugging roughly. He sighed, took the cup and watched as the coffee swirled.

Five years of tormenting himself and it all ended up like this.

He lost his resolve the moment he saw her smile. Luffy had no idea how easy it was for her to ruin him right now. Though he knew, she didn't have the heart to do that.

Wasn't it always like that since the beginning of their relationship? Luffy gliding and maneuvering so easily inside his thoughts, his emotions, his heart. Opening his eyes to the things he forgot existed. Mundane things seemed interesting, having friends to care about didn't seem as taxing.

She healed him.

Made him feel again.

Made him new.

Made him whole.

He was an idiot, wasn't he?

Law frowned. Technically, their "reunion" went well but Luffy acted like nothing happened between them and it bothered him. And he didn't want Luffy to act like nothing happened, no matter how sadistic and masochistic that sounded like. He felt odd when he didn't see any resentment from her nor anger. She was genuinely surprised and happy to see him.

His lifted his cup onto his lip and downed the coffee in one go. He might need another cup of coffee with all the information his brain was trying to process. He stared at Shachi and Penguin, actually he might need three with the idiots creating a racket with their stupid questioning.

"How'd you know her?" Shachi started interrogating Bepo, leaning closer to the guy. Bepo gulped visibly, bronzed fingers fidgeting. For a big guy, he was such a softie.

Law threw his empty cup at Shachi's head. "Idiot."

"You gotta be curious somewhere deep down, doc! We've been working together for years! Years! Yet he never mentioned that he knew someone as cute as her!" Penguin huffed, arms crossing over his chest.

He wasn't.

Really.

…

…

Fine. He was. Sue him.

He considered Bepo as his closest friend. He couldn't really blame him, they never ventured into things that would talk about women unless it was involving their medical condition. They talked about work, work and more work. They hang out, had drinks together, he might have told Bepo about a girl once when he was drunk out of his mind – he wasn't sure either – but he never mentioned a name.

Law joined Bepo's training sessions to unwind himself but he never saw Luffy there. Bepo would drag him to competitions but she wasn't there too.

Bepo sighed. "We're from the same dojo but I was in a higher tier when she started her basics. She joined with her friends, Nami and a guy named Usopp. I could tell they were there for fun but she ended up becoming the ace of the women's team. I tried sparring with her once and she could send my bum to the matt. She's cool."

Shachi and Penguin listened, a little too intently, with their eyes unblinking, absorbing every detail their pea-sized brain could muster.

Not like he was any different.

He wanted to know more, wanted to put something on the blank parchment of the years they spent apart but he doesn't want to pique Shachi and Penguin's interest towards him and Luffy's past. They're the peskiest bugs Law could never get rid of.

"What? That's it?" Shachi whined.

"Come on man, I doubt you could talk to her like that when you only shared a martial arts class. Give us the deets. Don't be fucking stingy." Penguin added.

Penguin stared at Shachi, eyes twinkling in mischief.

"Give us the deets, give us the deets." They both chanted as they tapped the table with their hands. The lady watching over the canteen shook her head.

Bepo looked at Law for help and he shrugged. _Sorry Bepo_.

Bepo surrendered. "Okay, okay. Just shut up okay? I don't wanna get kicked out of here again because of the two of you."

"Yes!" Came their response, giving each other a high-five. They sat back down, chin resting on the back of their hands as Bepo started talking again. Creepy idiots.

"Uh. So, we ended up having the same minor classes in the Grandline University –"

Law's eye widen. That was where he graduated. How the fuck did he not see her? Then again he was ahead of everyone, he never mingled with anyone either.

Why was it not in her social media – not like there was much there, really. He pinched himself, god he sounded like a creep.

"What!? How?!"

"Can both of you shut the fuck up and let Bepo finish what he's trying to say?" Law coolly interjected. He gestured for Bepo to continue.

Bepo scratched his white hair. "I'm not sure how, really, but I heard the university's coach saw her in one of the competitions our dojo joined and offered her a scholarship. We know each other but I wouldn't say we're close. She's nice though, kinda rowdy but very friendly, everyone in the dojo and in our classes at the university likes her."

"Boo, that's all?"

"That's all I know," Bepo said.

"That's useless information! Don't you have her number or something?" Shachi asked, brown brows wiggling.

Bepo shrugged making the idiots cry.

"How about you, doc?" Penguin asked.

"What about me?" He answered composedly.

Penguin rolled his eyes. "How'd you know her?" Shachi and Bepo turned their heads to him, expectant. He could tell that Shachi was purely curious. Bepo, on the other hand…

"I just do," he said.

Penguin gawked. "No fair! Bepo told us, so you have to!"

"Doesn't have to work that way." Law replied casually, wanting nothing more than these idiots to shut their mouths.

"Boo, doc, boo. You suck."

"Yeah, doc. Booo. Shame. Shame."

The lady at the counter shushed them.

"_**DR. TRAFALGAR to ER. DR. TRAFALGAR to ER."**_

They all paused and looked at the speaker on the corner of the cafeteria.

"Guess my vacation's done." He mumbled. "I'll see you guys around. Bepo. Idiots."


	5. Chapter 5

Monkey D. Luffy had never expected to meet Law after five years in her new workplace.

In retrospect, she should've had.

First, he was one of the famous surgeons in the entire Grandline. She saw him once in the front cover of Saboady's health magazine's before Ace suddenly needed fuel for the electric grill he was using for his and Marco's engagement announcement.

Second, Smile Medical Center was the leading medical facility in the entire country. It was expected that someone with Law's skills would work there.

Third, which she should've really realized sooner, the entire hospital was run by his Uncle Doffy and family associates.

She cringed. What was she supposed to tell her brothers?

But she couldn't really blame anyone, not even herself. If she was to listen to Usopp's wise teachings, he would say that it was randomly generated.

And in all honesty, it had been _that_ kind of day.

After two weeks, Luffy and her friends settled nicely in their apartment with their new roommates, Zoro and Sanji. Nami said they were weirdos but it was Nami, she thinks everyone besides herself and Vivi are weirdos. Usopp thought they were scary but Luffy liked them, they were cool and good people.

Sanji cooks the best food for her and Nami for free! Zeff, Sanji's dad and also the owner of Baratie, kept telling him that he would lead them to bankruptcy if he would continue treating every women that visits their restaurant with free food.

Luffy has a fifty-fifty opinion on that, she doubted the restaurant would close with the amount of guests they cater every day. But she also knew that she eats like a swarm of locusts on a feeding frenzy so…she'll have to see what happens in the future.

Their other new roommate, Zoro was a kendo teacher who also practices karate. He sparred with her from time to time and it was fun! He was strong and it was hilarious listening to Sanji nag him for hitting a woman. She wondered what the blond would do when he sees her grandpa.

They were a pretty funny pair too. They act like they despise each other but everybody in the establishment knew they were together. Luffy could tell that they have deep respect for each other despite how much they banter.

Which again proved her opinion that love was weird.

Responding positively to the email she received a couple week before she moved, she was supposed to wake up early for her it but her roommates decided to celebrate the night before.

Baratie was closed for the entire day to prepare for a _feast_.

_"It's only befitting of such a beauty like you, Luffy-chwan~"_

It would've been better if her brothers were able to join them but they were getting busy with their weddings. Nami had been constantly checking up on them, they both choose – coerced and blackmailed – her as their wedding planner after all.

But watching her friends have fun and enjoy the evening together; she couldn't be any happier.

Then the alcohol came.

Mistakes were made that night, she thought.

Usopp knew she couldn't hold her liquor but did that stop him from giving her booze?

Absolutely not.

She thinks Usopp live for the joy of seeing her shitfaced… Which was fair really with the amount of time Luffy made fun of him.

Even Nami who was supposed to be the responsible one in the group encouraged her to drink more. Luffy guessed the merriment of the moment carried her away. It was nice to see her unwind once in a while, her concern for Luffy and Usopp would make her gray early. And they might get a fine for that. Yikes!

In the end, Luffy woke up to Nami's screeching. She was dragged into their shared bathroom, still half-asleep. She didn't even remember who dressed her for work. She could only guess it was herself when she noticed her favorite blue jeans and a loose white shirt.

She barely registered Nami talking about proper working attire until the orange-haired woman placed food in front of her.

"Oh my god, I need to overprice your brother's weddings." She groaned as she sat opposite of her in their dining room while Sanji was in the kitchen preparing food for everyone else.

"Come on, finish your food. Your shift started ten minutes ago!"

Really. Nami didn't have to tell her twice.

Nami borrowed Sanji's car and drove her to work. Though they never anticipated the intensity of Sabaody's morning rush.

So she turned out late in first day of work. Nothing's wrong with that.

Right?

She was lucky enough that the hospital personnel she was about to meet turned out to be her friend, Bepo. Nami would've killed her - twice - if she lost the job.

He gave her the uniform she was supposed to wear during work hours and led her to the staff's locker room. She changed as fast as she could, ruining the perfect bun Nami did for her. Well, it was bound to happen anyway.

The briefing turned out enjoyable with her and Bepo's conversation sidetracking to their shared sports. Eventually, she started to have that nagging feeling to hasten their "tour". Maybe Nami was right when she said Luffy couldn't stay still. Though Luffy's quite sure she was just eager to meet the new kids she would be taking care of.

As soon as they reached their destination, something compelled Luffy to look back.

She was surprised.

And then she smiled.

He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. Midnight blue hair looking like he just raked them with his fingers.

There was something in his gaze as grey eyes like brushed steel lingered on her face.

Luffy noticed the dark hue below his eyes and the faint flush on his prominent cheeks. Did he have a fever?

That goatee looked good on him. She was surprised to see that he finally kept it. She couldn't help but giggle, he was so against it before no matter how many times she asked him to keep it.

He had tattoos now too, several of them. She eyed the ones on his arms, they looked cool and she recognizes all of the designs except for the death on his fingers. Sketching was something he liked to do while he listened to her yap about the food she ate during lunch as they hung out under the giant tree in their school yard that they named Adam.

She remembered how Law's lips would quirk up when she complements his sketches and how those grey eyes would roll fondly when she started putting dried leaves on his head.

_Why did she suddenly remember those things_? She asked herself, feeling a bit light-headed looking back into their past.

_It had been five years. Those were things she was supposed to forget. _She told herself, mentally willing herself to stop staring at Law.

So she beamed. "Law!"

Just like she always did for him.

"Luffy." He said. He sounded out of breath, looked at her like she was a phantom from his past – she probably was – and would disappear if he even blinked for a fraction of a second. He froze, lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say more.

She felt a tug on scrub. She looked at Law once again and smiled. She turned around and crouched when she saw seven kids looking up at her, eyes playful and bright.

"Hey, hey, what's your name?" They asked.

"Hey guys, I'm Luffy!"

The kids perked up and dragged her into the middle of the room. They were an energetic bunch, she's excited to play with them every day and help them recover.

"I'm Sind!" A blond boy cheekily said.

"I'm Mocha!"

"Biyo!"

"Doran!"

"Ginko!"

"Konbu!"

"And I'm Uzu!"

"Can you be our princess?" They looked at her starry-eyed.

"Shishishi. But I wanna be a pirate!" Luffy said standing up and putting her hands on her hips.

"But we want you to be the princess!" They chorused.

"Cause you're tall and princesses are like that." The boy with busy brown hair said. The others were looking at him like he imparted them a great knowledge unknown by men.

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"But a Pirate King sounds cooler! I'd meet new friends, they'll be my crew and we'll always be free and have amazing adventures together!" Luffy vehemently said and they oohed. "And that way, you guys can be the pirate princes and princesses! Sounds awesome right?"

"Yeahhhhh!"

"And they can be the monster!" Sind screamed as he pointed at the four men standing near the door, looking at her and the kids, bewildered and had absolutely no idea what trouble they were in.

"Attackkkk!"

x

After all the games she and the kids played, Luffy and her co-workers started doing exercise to improve the kids motor skills. Mocha and Sind were assigned to her thus she gave them an our of one on one exercises, while the other kids went to their respective caretakers.

The exercises went well, Mocha and Sind were eager to get moving and healthy again. She let them stay inside the pediatric room with the other kids who were also done with their exercises while they wait for their parents to take them home. Kaya, her new co-worker, watched over them.

Luffy waved at Kaya while the kids were busy drawing, she slipped quietly before they realize she's about to leave. The frail, blonde girl giggled and shooed her when Luffy peeked one more time.

She hummed gently to herself as she walked the hallways leading to the employee's locker room, grinning at the people she passed by. Luffy reached the locker and looked for the the number she was assigned with. She began tapping her pink scrub pants for the keys that Bepo surely gave her earlier.

Frowning with her futile attempt to feel the keys through her pants, Luffy pulled out the pockets and the key flew out and landed on the tiled floor with a clang. "Oops." She said sheepishly.

She was about to pick it up when the door opened and two loud voices echoed inside the room. She looked up and saw the guys that were in pedia's waiting room when she arrived.

They stood frozen near the door, then looked at each other.

She smiled at them and picked up the key on the floor.

She heard one clear his throat. "Uh.. H-hey, you're Luffy right?" The brown haired one said. "I'm Sachi by the way. This guy's Penguin." He added, elbowing the black haired guy who almost spilled the coffee he was drinking.

Penguin gulped down his coffee, glaring at Sachi. "H-hey! Welcome to Smile Medical Center! We're from the radiology department. Just find us when you need body scans and x-rays, especially with your heart."

"Shishishi, you guys are funny. I'll remember that." Or at least she hoped she could. But they didn't have to know that, she thought.

She unlocked her locker and grabbed her clothes, closing it back after she made sure nothing was left behind.

They were still lingering behind her, talking to each other in hushed voices. She turned around and asked brightly, "You guys need something?"

Penguin pushed Shachi. "You ask her." He said, teeth gritted.

Sachi pushed him back. "Why don't you do it?"

"No you –"

"_You_ do it–"

Luffy looked between them, head tilted to the side. "Ask me what?"

"Coffee!" They said at the same time then glared at each other.

"You guys really are funny. I like you guys. Shishishi. But coffee huh." She scrunched her forehead, thinking deeper. "That's too bad, I don't really like it. My friends drink that every morning and I didn't see the appeal, its bitter! Blegh. So I have to decline but if it was meat, now that's a different story, we could totally go do that."

"M-Meat?" Penguin asked and Luffy nodded.

Sachi side-glanced at the other guy. "Ah, y-yeah! Totally! Meat! We… we can head out and find a restaurant. There should be a lot outside the hospital."

Luffy beamed then frowned. "That sounds tempting but Sanji promised he'd cook something really special for me tonight so probably next time? Sanji's food is really, really good you see. You guys should go there and eat some time."

"Guys?" She waved her hand over their faces. "Next time?" She asked again as they both stared at her unbelieving and then nodded.

"That's good then! See ya around!" She waved at them, clothes tucked under her arm and headed to the changing room.

"It worked." She heard their voices as she walked away. "I can't believe it worked."

"She said she likes me."

"Stop daydreaming, she said that to me."

"Shut up, was obviously for me."

"Oh please –"

Luffy grinned, people here were friendly. She liked it so far.

Now wearing her jeans and t-shirt, she went back to the pediatric room to check the kids before she goes home. She looked through the glass doors. Three kids remained, still drawing and talking to each other.

She went in quietly, hoping she didn't disturbed them. They looked like they were having fun.

"Their parents should be here in an hour or so, they usually fetch them after work." Kaya said softly, standing beside her.

"I see. I'll play more with then." She beamed.

Kaya giggled. "Alright, have fun, Luffy." She looked at the crumpled clothes in Luffy's hand. "Ah, wait, let me hold your scrubs, I'll go find a bag so you don't have to hold it around with your hand."

"Thanks Kaya!" She then bounded to the kids sitting in the mini-library.

"Hey guys, wanna play pirate?"

~~~x~~~

Law pushed the emergency room door open. He skidded down the halls, the ends of white coat trailing behind him, making a swish-swoosh sound with every step he took.

He heard that familiar sound of heels. "Shit." He muttered to himself.

Law lived in a mansion with his father, his uncle, and his "cousins". They were his uncle's people but they all grew up together. Law living with them almost his entire life reached the point where he knew exactly just by the way they walk, the click of their shoes, the lumber of their footsteps who they were.

And in the Donquixote mansion, Law ought to look out for the women because they were batshit crazy. One wants to dress him up as a girl. The other proposed to him –and every other guy she sees, really, she wasn't picky –a million times since they were ten. And the last one was sort of normal… but not really because who would follow every single word his uncle says? They had to be crazy right?

Right?

So he had to observe, learn and bury the details deep inside his brain for him to survive in that place.

Law was about to turn around the corner to avoid what he knew was coming for him when a deadpanned voice called.

"Ah. There you are." Monet impassively said not even bothering to look away from the papers she filed on her clipboard, green hair tied tightly in a bun, the one that looked like it would rip her scalp the moment she moves her head.

"Doffy wants to see you." She turned around and started walking back to his uncle's office.

"Of course, he would." He answered in resignation, knowing exactly why his uncle wanted to see him. He knew the events today had been his uncle and his father's scheming.

Their pace picked up, Monet's heels clicking on a rhythm until they arrived in front of his uncle's office. She stood beside the door and opened it for him.

He stood there for a while, sighed and entered.

Doflamingo was sitting in a leather executive chair behind his desk, head slightly bent playing with his phone.

"Ah. There's my nephew," He said without looking up. His fingers paused tapping his phone and moved it on the side of his table, dangerously close to the edge. Elbows, resting on his table, he looked at Law with a massive grin on his face.

"Sit. Sit." His long arms gesturing for Law to sit down. Law remained standing and his uncle looked at him.

Really looked at him.

There was no other word to describe it but uncomfortable. Like he knew what was going inside Law's head, what he was thinking – rather, who he was thinking about.

His uncle chuckled, shaking his head.

"I see," He said uncharacteristically solemn, making Law blink twice. It was far off from what he expected that Law was left speechless.

The blond looked at the clock hanging on the wall near the glass windows in clear view of the night lights of Sabaody.

"Her shift ended thirty minutes ago," Doffy said.

"Wha –"

"But knowing her, she's probably lingering around doing what she does best…pulling people into her orbit." He paused then looked straight at Law, blond eyes narrowing. "I doubt you'd want other people noticing that."

"What do you mean?"

"It's been five years Law, you weren't around. You left her. There are other men who want to have someone like her Law, you're not the only one."

Law clenched his jaws. He knew, this bastard didn't have to tell him 'cause he fucking knew. Did they fucking think he didn't regret it? Did they fucking think all the time he succumb himself to alcohol was for shit and giggles?

He grit his teeth, hands trembling. "I fucking know that!"

"Do you really?" His uncle asked.

"Of course, I do! If you only -"

"Oh I knew…Your father knew. The entire mansion knew. We watched you crumble Law. Somebody had to help your sorry ass."

"I don't…" he seethed… "I don't need your fucking help."

"Really now? If you didn't need our fucking help like you oh so kindly put it then why are you still standing here talking to me like an idiot when you can go and check on her?"

_What?_

"Shoo, you're dismissed. And stop roaming around the hospital like a lost puppy."

_What?_

The door behind him opened.

Law gawked. Unbelievable.

Law slowly stepped back and turn around. He was at the door when his uncle spoke again.

"Don't fuck up this time, Law."

Monet smirked at him and closed the door.

x

Unfortunately, trying to erase that encounter with his uncle was difficult.

He didn't know how to feel when his entire fucking family was rooting for him. If he looked at the bright side, he had people supporting him even with how much he burned everything…but did it really matter when most of them were insane and extra?

He sighed, he hated to admit that Doflamingo had a point.

He did decide to get closer to her again but the thoughts that plagued him weren't helping. He didn't know how to approach her. He didn't know how she would react.

He didn't even know if she even wanted him back in her world.

Law paused.

For the first time in his life, he really had no idea what to do.

Law walked silently until he reached the entrance of the hospital. He nodded at the guard on duty and headed to the parking lot. He was already halfway to his car when someone bumped into him almost throwing him off to the floor.

Staggering and trying to regain his breathe because what the actual fuck was that? He gasped as air entered his lungs.

"Watch where the fuck you're fucking going, assho... Luffy?"

"Oh, Law. Hi again!" She grinned, blood dripping from her nose, a reusable bag hanging on arm.

_Fuck._

She wiped her nose and stared at her hand. "Ops. My bad. I got blood on your scrub."

"Wha-"Get_ a grip Law. She's bleeding, do something. You're a fucking doctor for fuck sake_. He shook his head.

The front of her white shirt was already drenched in blood. "Here, let me help."

"'S okay, I'm fine." She said nasally as she pinched her nose, staggering a bit.

"No, you're not. C'mere, my car's near, let's get you seated." He absentmindedly grabbed her other hand, tugging her towards his car.

Law looked back when she stiffened and took a sharp intake of breath. She looked at him wide eyed, then looked down at their joined hands.

He let go right away. A burning feeling pierced his chest and his cheeks as the realization hit him hard. "I'm sorry." He moved his hand behind him. He gently clenched his hand, feeling the lingering warmth of hers.

He hoped – deeply hoped – as he looked away that that was disappointment he saw in her face when he let go of her hand.

"C'mon, it's near." He repeated.

"Okay." She answered shakily.

They walked to the car silently, he constantly checked if she was still following him. Law pulled the keys from his pocket, his car beeped and opened the front seat.

"Sit down." Luffy moved, free hand gripping the chair. She settled herself down and leaned slightly forward breathing through her mouth, eyes closed as she continued to pinch her nose.

It really shouldn't surprise him because she works in a hospital too but it didn't mean he didn't find it attractive - even though she was soaked in blood – that she knew what she was doing.

The old Luffy wouldn't know what to do.

Which reminded him, what else changed?

"Stay here. I'll be right back."

"Where?" She mumbled.

"Getting an ice pack." He heard her make an abortive grunt.

Law rolled his eyes, still as stubborn. "No, you're not fine, just stay here."

Law didn't bother waiting for her reply and ran back to the hospital in haste. The security at the entrance looked dumbfounded as he bolted inside, ignoring Sachi, Penguin and Bepo's call.

He passed by them again, icepack in his hand.

"What is he doing?" Sachi asked.

"I have no idea." Bepo and Peguin answered together.

He was out of breath when he reached his car, Luffy was still pinching her nose and typing in her phone. She glanced at him and gave him a thankful smile when she saw the ice pack he brought.

"You didn't have to, but thank you, Law." She placed her phone back into her pocket and opened her palms.

"I'll do it."

"Okay."

He removed her hand from her nose and placed the ice pack gently on her nose and over her cheek, pressing it slightly. "Ten minutes then I'll remove it."

She nodded.

"Don't you need to go home?" She asked, voice muffled.

"I'm not in a rush, unlike you," he said then added, "Why were you in a rush anyway?"

"Was waiting for Zoro, he was supposed to pick me up today but I think he got lost again so I was going to catch the bus."

"Zoro?"

Luffy nodded. "My roommate."

"Ah."

Law mulled over the silence that took over them.

"_It's been five years Law, you weren't around. You left her. There are other men who want to have someone like her, you're not the only one."_

He bit the inside of his lip.

He only realized that ten minutes had passed when Luffy spoke. "Aight, that should be okay, it's not bleeding anymore. Thank you so much, Law. This was nice of you," she said earnestly. "I gotta go, don't wanna be late for dinner."

Law couldn't help but chuckle. "Still with the food, huh." He said fondly.

She stared at him dumbfounded. Her gaze landing on his quirked lips and then his eyes. "Y-yeah." She stuttered and looked away.

"I…" Law took a deep breath. "Can I take you home, Luffy?"

She remained quiet. Law noticed her fingers pulling the hem of her shirt.

"It's fine if you don't want to…" he paused. "But at least let me take you to the bus stop and wait for the bus with you, just to make sure you reach your place safely...please."

"Zoro wouldn't probably like that but I can deal with that." He added.

Luffy tilted her head, brows furrowed. "Why would Zoro not like it?"

"I don't know, "He said, shrugging. The whispered "I don't _really wanna_ know."

She paused. _Why would she want you to take her home? You're an idiot, Law._

"Okay. Take me…"

Law choked.

_What?!_

She seem to realize what she said, her face growing adorably flushed and started spluttering. "I mean, take me, _take me. _Not take _me._ Wha – No! I mean, take me home. Y-eah! That's it! Take me home. Please." She looked away, ears as bright red as the taillights of a car that passed by.

"Pft. Okay…I'll take you…"He covered his mouth with his hand, eyes teary trying to stop himself from laughing out loud.

"Home." He added heaving, as he started laughing, he gazed at her pouting cutely then came her bright laugh he really missed.

"Shishishi."


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! Thank you for following and making this story your favorite :)

I appreciate the feedback too!

Work's sorta stressful for the next few months but the chapters are ready and I'll post em weekly.

Again, Thank you! Thank you for reading!

* * *

Luffy swatted the hand that was shaking her gently, rudely interrupting her dream. She rolled on her side, tucking her legs in her stomach and hissed when her face smooshed into something cold and wiggled back, feeling something soft behind her.

"Luffy, wake up."

"Hmm. Five minutes, Nami." She heard herself say and snuggled deeper into the soft whatever on her back.

There was a sigh and the rude hand shook her again.

"Come on, Luffy. We're here."

"Usopp, I said five minutes." She whined. She heard a soft chuckle. She thought it sounded nice. She wouldn't mind hearing that again.

A car door opened. Her brain was trying to comprehend why there was a car in her bedroom. It wouldn't fit at all.

"Well," the voice was closer this time, right beside her ear, "if you wanna miss dinner then –"

"No!" She snapped and scrambled up from where she was leaning. She tried to stand and hit her head. "Oww!" Gently rubbing her head, she squinted her eyes with the sudden onset of bright lights.

Rubbing her eyes, she looked around. Then paused at the figure leaning on the wheel, looking at her amused.

She rubbed her eyes harder this time, making sure she wasn't still off in dreamland fighting marines and wreaking havoc.

"Law?" She furrowed her brows, head titled.

"Yeah. You fell asleep." He said softly…fondly… Voice too intimate for Luffy to handle. She shivered and rubbed her bare arm with her hand. She blamed the fancy car's air conditioning. She was still a bit sleepy and starving to think of any reason other than that.

And if she did, Luffy didn't really want to think about it while she was inside his car, alone with him.

Law opened the car door, going around the front of the car and opening the other side where she sat. When she tried to stand, her knees appeared to give away before Law grabbed her elbow and then slipped his other hand around her waist.

"Careful. We don't want you bleeding through your nose again."

"Yeah… Thanks." She answered without looking behind her. She could feel Law's chest rising and falling as he breath. Her heart was beating loud, racing inside her chest. Or was it his? She didn't really know.

She gripped the car door and steadied herself. "I'm good now. You can let go."

"Ah. Sorry." He said, letting her go and shuffling behind her.

She closed her eyes, hand splayed on her chest, feeling the rapid beating of her heart.

_Stop. Please._

Law hovered behind her. "Luffy? You o-"

"Lu?" A deep voice called out and she turned around.

Law slowly turned and stood straight.

"Zoro." She replied smiling. She walked and stopped beside Law.

"What the fuck happened to you? You look like you got hit by a truck." He said looking at her shirt then back to her face.

She looked down at her bloody shirt and shrugged. Looking up, she saw Zoro raising an eyebrow at Law, who stared back impassively.

"Was waiting for you but you were late and I assumed you were lost – again."

"Hey!" Zoro complained.

"So I tried to take the bus but I slammed into Law in the parking lot and – Oh yeah! Zoro, this is Law. He's my…" she paused and glanced at Law who was still staring blankly at Zoro then looked at her. Their eyes met and she shifted and glanced away.

"He's my…uh… he's a friend from high school, we went to the same school with Nami and Usopp. We work in the same hospital so he offered to take me home." She really couldn't look at him at the moment so her eyes remained looking at Zoro. "Law, this is Zoro, my roommate."

"Yo." Zoro said nodding his head casually.

"Yo." He replied.

"Since you're here, let's go up. Dinner's ready." Zoro said. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled, making the green-haired man chuckle.

"You can invite your friend, there should be more than enough food for us." Zoro turned around and started walking into the back part of the restaurant.

Luffy started following Zoro, bounding beside the man. "Yeah, come on Law." She said gesturing for him to tag along.

He hesitated. "That sounds wonderful but I don't want to intrude in your dinner. You guys might want to have some time for yourselves."

Zoro doubled-back and stared at Law, eyebrow raised.

"Eh? But we see each other every day, we live in the same house after all." Luffy said, tilting her head. "The more the merrier too… ah wait." She poked her temple. "But that means more competition for food."

"Idiot" Zoro flicked her forehead. "Stop being a glutton."

"Ow." She groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"Come on, man. Take it as a thank you for taking this idiot home." He said, arms slinging over Luffy's shoulder. "She might end up in Kuraigana without your help."

"Hey, that's you!" Luffy elbowed his rib and laughed when the man cursed under his breath. Law remained quiet standing in front of them, looking uncomfortable or like he wanted to operate on Zoro.

"I'm not really hungry." He said.

Luffy huffed and squirmed out of Zoro's arm. It was free food. Free food! Who says no to free food? Was he being stupid again and not eating? She shook her head, not liking the idea at all. With determined stride, she walked towards Law's car and closed the door. He looked at her puzzled.

Then she grabbed his hand, ignoring the deafening thud in her heart.

"That's no good, Law. You're eating with us and that's it." She started dragging Law, who scrambled behind her.

Zoro gawked looking at her. "What?" She asked.

He stared at them, curious eyes landing on their entwined hands then smirked. "Oh. I see." Then he chuckled, turning around and walking back to the direction behind the restaurant.

"Zoro wait!" Luffy stared at Law who looked utterly confused and tugged his hand. "Come on Law, he's going to eat all the food!"

"Huh?" He answered dumbly. Rolling her eyes, Luffy dragged him towards her apartment.

Seriously, someone needed to teach this man the importance of food and time around food, she thought. Rolling her eyes, Luffy dragged him towards her apartment.

x

If there was some semblance of understanding inside Law's brain – aside from the fact that Luffy was holding his hand like she was afraid that he'd let go, which was doing stupid things to his heart, a man could only take much in one day; their reunion already messing up his brain, his and his uncle's conversation, and Luffy's significant other who looked like he was enjoying Law's reaction to Luffy's touch – it was gone the moment the door to the couple's apartment and a blond man rushed to hug Luffy but then got blocked by the green-haired man who _growled _and held the man's waist _firmly_.

"Oh no." He heard Luffy say and turned, facing him. "You should probably close your eyes." She warned. Not really understanding what the hell was happening, he looked up and –

_What the fuck?_

He hoped he didn't said it out loud because it might come out rude.

Apparently, public display of affection wasn't an issue for them.

They had kissed. It wasn't just a kiss – small peak on the lips – he was sure there were tongues somewhere and other… sounds.

Law looked at Luffy for some sort of explanation because he thought they were together but she was so calm as if her significant other wasn't lip locking with another man.

"Shishishi. That's Sanji, Zoro's boyfriend."

Though that really didn't imply that Luffy had no current relationship, he still felt lighter than he had since their conversation in the parking lot.

_If she does have someone, what would I do?_ He thought.

He couldn't help but ask himself, would he be as understanding as Luffy if their roles where reversed? Would he be able to let go of her when she showed up in Makino's café with another man? Was he willing to forgive her when they finally met each other after years

Would he be as selfless as her?

He doubted that.

'Cause he was selfish, he always knew he was.

And he already knew he was going to be even more selfish this time around.

She had called him a friend. Law should take what he can. He shouldn't really be affected cause he knew what he did left a scar yet her hesitation hurt because that was probably what he was going to be to her forever.

A friend.

His attention was drawn back to the couple when he heard a loud thud – suspiciously close to someone hitting a brick wall with their head, intentionally – infront of him. Luffy also turned around and started laughing.

"What the hell is wrong with you, stupid algae!"

"Ha?! What the hell is wrong with me? You sucked my face first, curly brows!"

"What?! You're an idiot, you pulled me in and kissed me, bastard!"

"'S not like you didn't fucking like it. You were moaning." The green-haired guy smugly pointed out.

The blond gawk, face red.

Luffy calmly gestured for him to follow her. "Don't worry, they're always like that." She opened a wall-closet filled with shoes and slippers. She pulled two pairs and gave him the bigger ones. They both removed their shoes and Law placed his inside the closet while picking up Luffy's white sneakers and place it beside his.

"Ah! Luffy-chwannn! What happened to you?!" He started hovering over Luffy. "This was your fault, wasn't it marimo? You got lost and then this happened to my dear Luffy."

"Shut up, love cook."

"No, you shut up."

They remained glaring at each other. Law was so damn lost looking at them when Luffy gestured for him to follow her again. He could still hear the couple shouting at each other near the front door. Give it to Luffy to live with… unique people.

"Sit." She said, patting the biege sofa in their living room. "I'll get out of these clothes before the others arrive."

Luffy walked towards the hallway which Law assumed led to her room, sound of flip-flops echoing in the hallway.

Law sat looking around the apartment .It was decorated in a modern minimalistic way, not really what he expected from Luffy. There was a thick soft chocolate colored carpet on the living room floor, a low wooden table placed above it. The walls were painted with white and caramel where the flat screen televion hung in between two polished wooden shelf with books. One entire wall left of the living room were glass windows overlooking the shores of Grandline, breeze gently coming in and out of the house as the thick white curtains rustled.

Behind the couch was a wooden dining table with ten chairs. A vase sat in the middle full off sunflower, dainty glass bottles of condiments settled beside it on small wooden tray. The kitchen and the dining room was separated by a dark marble counter. The kitchen was something Law would see only in highclass restaurants but considering the place was the second floor of one, he thought it was just fitting.

There was a small hallway leading to what he thought was their bedrooms. Overall the apartment looked nice and homey.

Law stood up and studied the framed photos hanging on the wall. He saw the blond man and Zoro and apparently Nami and Usopp with Luffy building a huge sand castle on the shore. There were more: photos of the couple with a shorter buffer older blond man, one with Nami and Luffy playing cards; Nami obviously winning with the amount of cards in Luffy's hand, another one with a soaking Usopp chasing a grinning Luffy. The last frame was Usopp and Nami slinging their arm over Luffy who was in her graduation robe, looking up at the cap mid-air with big smiles on their faces.

"Hey man, sorry about earlier." Law turned quickly, surprised by the voice behind him. "I'm Sanji by the way, Luffy's other roommate." He extended his hand and Law took it firmly.

"Law."

"How'd you know Luffy?" he asked.

"Ah. We… we knew each other in high school and now we work at the same hospital."

The blond hummed. "Small world."

"Yeah… You could say that."

"Anyway, welcome. Feel at home, I'm gonna prepare the table for dinner."

"Let me help."

The blond shook his head. "It's all good." Law nodded and headed back to sit on the couch.

Law was scanning through a wedding magazine that was on the table while waiting for Luffy when he heard the sound of keys jingling outside the door.

Watching as the door opened, Law saw red high heels and heard a sigh as the owner removed it from her feet and placed it neatly in another wall closet filled entirely with more heels. Someone was behind her carrying three shopping bags on both hands. He slipped off his sandals and pushed them inside the closet with his feet.

He walked pass the woman, shoulders sagging as he sighed heavily. He looked like he needs a blood transfusion. "Nami, I'm leaving your stuff in the livi-"

The bags fell on the floor as Usopp met his eyes and squeaked.

"Those better be not my clothes I hear dropped on the floor Usopp, or I swear you'll pay ten times its worth for the damage." The voice near the door hollered and grew louder as the owner stomped towards Usopp.

She screeched when she saw her bags lying on the floor. "What do you think you're doing Usopp!?"

Usopp's eyes looked back at Nami then back to Law. Nami sighed, exasperated. She was about to pick them up when her brown eyes landed on Law. She stopped short, keys dropped on the carpeted floor.

Then she spoke. "What. The. Hell are you doing here?" Law had expected this. Nami sounded beyond pissed, confused, like she didn't understand why Trafalgar Law, of all people, was sitting in her and her friends' couch like he was _welcomed _guest.

Law saw Usopp quickly grab her arm when she looked like she was going to pounce and behead Law. Usopp, himself, even looked scared at the woman she was holding.

Nami exhaled. "Let me go, Usopp." She said in such a calm way, it sounded eerie. Usopp shook his head. "If you don't let me go, I'll beat you up first."

Rushed footsteps echoed in the hallway and Luffy appeared wearing a baggy red shirt with the word MEAT printed on the front and blue boxer shorts.

"Nami. Usopp." She said out of breath, looking at the three of them feeling the tension in the living room. Even Sanji and Zoro were now peeking over the kitchen counter.

Law stood up from the couch, getting himself ready for the onslaught of Nami's words but it never came.

Nami closed her eyes and visibly relaxed. Usopp let out a sigh of relief yet his hand were still firmly holding her arm.

Removing Usopp's grip from her arm, she walked pass Law and stopped in front of Luffy grabbing her shoulder with both of her hands and shaking her gently. Like she was reminding her to wake up. "Luffy, your _guest_ needs to go back to where he came from."

It was Sanji who spoke when Luffy just glanced between him and Nami. She bit her lips, expression looking torn and concerned.

"Eh, but Nami-chwan, he's going to have dinner with us. He's Luffy's guest after all. We have more than enough food even with Lu-"

Nami looked at Luffy like she had lost her mind.

"No. Sanji." She said with finality. "Nobody's eating with us tonight, it's just going to be us. You, Zoro, Usopp, Luffy and me. Luffy's guest was just about to go home. Isn't that right _Law?_

Sanji was about to reply when Nami glared at him. The blond looked surprised. Zoro stared at the people in the living room then dragged Sanji to the hallway. "Come on."

"But,

"Drop it, love cook." Zoro said then dragged Sanji to the hallway leading to their quarters.

"Usopp, send him out." Nami ordered making Usopp standstill, eyes darting towards Law.

"Nami, it's okay." Luffy finally spoke.

"What Luffy? Okay? Are you serious right now? Can you hear yourself right now?" Nami asked, remotely unsure whether she heard Luffy right. Law stood straight and faced Luffy with a small smile on his face. Hoping she would see how sorry he was for ruining her night. "Its fine, Luffy. Thank you for the invitation."

"Oh. Okay, I'll see you out then." She said.

"No." Nami voiced out. "Usopp, don't make me repeat myself."

Usopp gulped and motioned for Law to follow him. "Come on, man. I don't wanna die just yet."

They walked quietly, Law closely following Usopp until they reached the door. Law looked back and saw Nami dragging Luffy towards the kitchen and away from his sight.

He was outside the door when Usopp spoke. "Gotta admit you deserve that man." The man looked serious, something he rarely saw when they were in highschool, Usopp had his moments of bravery before but never quite this intense.

"I know."

~~~x~~~

Rocinante sat on their dining table picking on the left over Chinese takeout he ordered for dinner. They usually ate together but since his brother was running late, everyone seemed to be eating elsewhere or were busy with their respective tasks.

He could easily ask anyone that was available to cook for him since he was banned from using the kitchen alone but lately, Baby and Giolla were going crazy over eating healthy and everyone in the house had been forced to eat what they were eating. Roci thought it was good though that didn't stop him and Doffy from ordering takeout.

He grabbed the empty containers and dropped it in the trash before either Baby or Giolla could see the evidence of him devouring "heart attack and diabetes inducing food" and went to the living room.

Full and satisfied, with a sigh – a sigh of someone who had eaten three boxes of takeout on his own –and he sat on the couch and spread his leg. He saw the remote on the other couch, opposite of where he was sitting. He stared at it for a while then shrugged. Straightening his leg, he tried to grab the remote with his toes.

Sticking his tongue out in concentration, he was so close to clipping the damned thing in between his toes when the front door opened.

"Uck!" He groaned, hands covering his mouth. Looking up he saw his son pick up batteries rolling on the floor and put it back inside the remote.

His son placed the remote quietly on the couch he was sitting on. For a moment, the younger man stood still, staring down at his now empty hand. He suddenly scowled and turned away from him.

Roci raised an eyebrow. "Evening Law. Rough day at work?"

Grey eyes glanced at him. "Yeah." His son answered, his voice was oddly neutral. He sounded exhausted but Roci could feel that work wasn't the only reason why he was looking more drained than usual.

Roci assumed that Law had already met Luffy – Doffy did mention that she was supposed to start working anytime this week – and it seemed like things didn't come out the way he and his brother wanted.

"Dinner?"

"Not hungry."

Roci frowned. _No good._

His gaze lingered on his son, he was about to force him to order another takeout with him but his mouth was left gaping when Law spoke.

"I saw her today. She smiled at me like… like I didn't do anything wrong… like…like I didn't fucking hurt her, dad, broke her heart." His smile was as _mocking_as the tone of his voice.

"And I wished, I fucking wished she would punch me you know, for the shit I've done to her. But she's letting me walk back into her life as if nothing happened between us…Her friends were right to drive me away, I don't fucking deserve to be around her anymore. I don't deserve her at all."

Law cleared his throat, voice cracking from an attempt of stopping his emotions.

"You know what's funny? I actually told myself I'd be even more selfish, take her back. Because I need her in my life, dad. But I don't know if I can do it. She's happy without me. It hurts seeing her laugh, it hurts so fucking bad 'cause I know I'm not the reason behind it. And I fucking know I shouldn't feel that way because I'm the one who fucked up everything."

Law went silent, staring at his palms looking like there was a war going inside his brain. The sheer reality finally dawning on him.

"Law." Roci called out, trying to snap his son out of all the spiraling thoughts gnawing his brain. "Son, look at me." Roci settled his hands on Law's shoulder. Reluctantly, his son looked up and stared at him.

"I won't deny that you fucked up." He said bluntly, there was no point sugarcoating anything anymore. He was going to tell his son what he thought honestly even though it squeezed his heart listening to his son.

"Yes, you hurt her. But there's no point raking over the past, Law. No matter what you do, you can't make the time go back but you can still change what's ahead. "

"You said you want her back, then do something about it. Don't mope around questioning your worth because you've done that before and it never helped you. You never really told me or anyone else why you left her but I think now's the right time come clean. I know you had your reasons at least let her know'cause we're talking about Luffy here. Sure, she'd be hurt but she would understand, just be honest with her and tell her everything."

Law breathed heavily, Roci felt his body ease a bit.

"Everything's fleeting Law, everything's temporary. You should know that. The pain, the joy, just like every emotion you'd feel will pass by. What's important is you'd savor those things, savor them while they're happening…She's there within your reach Law, don't let the only person that's making you really happy slip away from you again."

Roci patted his son's shoulder.

"I didn't raise you to give up when you haven't even started yet. And no matter what happens, your dad will be here supporting you."

A comfortable silence settled around them. Roci pulled his son into a warm embrace. He heard Law cough as he squeezed him tighter. He ignored it. The kid can take all his affection, it had been a while since his son had let Roci hug him so he'd milk every second of it.

Roci finally let him go when he heard a clap, followed by a sequence of more claps. Both Roci and Law turned around only to see Doffy dramatically dabbing the corner of his eye with a pink hanky.

"Ah, that was beautiful." He sighed. "Way better than the soap operas I watch."

Law scowled and stomped towards his room. Doffy sauntered towards Roci, standing beside him as they watch Law's back disappear into the hallway.

"You ruined it." The younger blond sighed.

"Nah. I'm sure he got everything you said in his brain." He leaned his elbow into Roci's shoulder and patted his head.

"Good job, brother. Good job."


	7. Chapter 7

Forty sleepless hours from two surgery he led, Law was so close slicing his "friends" with a scalpel for the amount of madness they were letting him endure.

Pain started to nibble at the edge of his brain. The last thing he needed was get a headache while finishing his shift. He kept telling himself that it was only two more hours but with his friends' constant pestering, two hours meant an eternity.

Unfortunately for him, Penguin, Sachi and Bepo had seen what happened in the parking lot. Asked him a million questions regarding that incident for a month now too.

The first three days after the "Betrayal: Act II" – Law seriously wondered where his friends got those stupid names – it was somehow still tolerable, they were genuinely curious and even worried for Luffy – the idiots even talked to her and she reassured them she was okay with that blinding smile of hers –a little questioning here and there, nothing he couldn't manage to steer into other topics.

Law's problems started a week after the incident when Bepo had pointed out why he was always looking out the window in the doctor's lounge.

Sachi and Penguin immediately scrambled off the lounge couch and pressed their faces unto the glass wall before he could even deny that he was, in fact, looking outside, staring at someone.

In Law's defense, he couldn't really look anywhere else. Her presence called unto him, making him look.

She had her hair tied up in a messy bun, a crown of flowers hung lopsided on her head. She was grinning at the kids as streaks of light passing through the gaps in the leaves of the trees planted in the middle of the garden made her look like a nymph.

He'd gladly offer himself for abduction.

He made the mistake of chuckling when she started to look around and sneakily plucked a yellow flower from the garden and placed it on the black-haired little girl's ear.

"Peng, hold me." Shachi dramatically said, hands reaching out to Penguin while his eyes were dead set on Law. Penguin too was gawking at him, looking like Law had three heads popping out of his neck.

Law scowled. "What?"

The idiots started slapping each other, their mouths opening and closing like that poor gold fish his dad had once brought home and flopped belly up the next day – rest in peace, Goldie.

Was that some kind of ritual dumb people do when they want to share their only remaining brain cell? Never mind that, he didn't really want to know.

"Did he just, ugh! Unbelievable! Give us some chance, would you? Did you see him do that thing, Chi?" Penguin paused, running his hand through his hair and shaking his head a little. He then leaned against the window, angling his chin at a forty-five degrees, jutting it a little bit.

"Looks ridiculous when you do it somehow. You have to make it look effortless." Shachi demanded, stomping his way towards Penguin, cocking the man's chin.

Bepo stood beside Law and asked. "What are they doing?"

"Don't ask me, I don't talk idiot." Law shrugged, absolutely having zero idea what the hell Penguin and Shachi were doing.

Bepo bumped his shoulder. "So…" He seemed to weigh his words properly before giving up and shrugging. "Luffy, huh."

Law sighed, so this was the thing that was bothering his friend for days now. "What about her?" He asked nonchalantly, hoping to dissuade Bepo from asking _things _he wasn't ready to answer. Law always felt bad when he tries to cover up details when he was talking to Bepo.

Bepo looked at him and shook his head. "I don't know if you remember… and I hope at least you leave clues where to find my body –"Law rolled his eyes, as if he could do that to Bepo, "but one time when we were out drinking" Bepo gulped pausing a bit and gauging Law's reaction which really was nothing since Law was expecting this, just not this soon. "You might've said… things? And after watching you for days looking at you know "Bepo motioned towards the window "her.I finally figured it out. You weren't exactly subtle… Even Shachi and Penguin noticed it too."

Law sighed, he doesn't remember anything but it seemed like he said too much. He might as well ask Bepo what he said, at least he'd know what he told the guy so far. "Care to elaborate those _things_?"

"Well… You said you missed _her_. You wanna see her again but you're afraid she'd reject you right away… that if you'd see her by chance, you'd tell her everything… that you'd tell her you never stopped thinking about her in those five years." Bepo said sounding solemn. "And you never really did." He added, scratching his temple.

Law remained silent. At least his drunk self was honest.

If only he acted sooner, he might still have a chance.

"I don't really know what happened but I'll help you get her back." Bepo beamed at him, giving him a thumbs up.

"Thanks, Bepo." Law's lips slight quirked up, then he sighed remembering what happened at Luffy's apartment. "Sounds impossible right now though."

Bepo titled his head. "But she's being nice to you.

"She's nice to everybody." Law retorted.

Bepo contemplated a bit, humming and nodding to himself. "That's true. But you can't say it's impossible."

"I know." He stated firmly. "I'm basically not only wooing her but also her friends. I met them when I sent her home – Can you stop that."

Bepo chuckled and stopped wriggling his brows. "I'm trying to calm you down, you look constipated, no offense."

"Do you want me to continue or not?"

"Okay, okay. And here I thought you'd pull that stick out of your butt now that she's around."

"Alright, I'll leave now." Law slowly turned around but Bepo pulled him back.

"Sorry! I'll stop."

He narrowed his grey eyes, staring directly at Bepo.

"I promise!" Bepo squeaked.

Law ended up telling Bepo exactly what went down at Luffy's apartment. His friend cringed when it came to Nami's reaction.

"So that's what happened."

"Damn."

"Yeah. You could say that twice."

"Damn."

Palm resting on his face, he shook his head. "Not literally, Bepo."

The other man shrugged and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "That's intense. I'd probably cry if Nami said that to me." He started typing on his phone.

"I… It was a slap of reality, actually." Law answered, leaning against Bepo shoulder, Bepo hummed and perked up. He showed Law his phone. Law peeked at Bepo's screen and groaned.

"Come on, you're not giving me advice coming from wikihow!"

"Why not? All the advice I gave to you about work was from wikihow." He casually answered.

Law stared at him, slightly gaping. _Was Bepo fucking serious? Oh god. He was..._

"You know what, forget I ever asked any advice from you. And I won't ever ask from you again."

Bepo pouted. "Aww, come on. It helped you! You gotta admit that!"

"No."

"You gotta try at least once!" He pleaded.

"Hell no."

"Are you guys even looking at us?!" Penguin cried out, slouching out the pose Shachi was telling him to do and earning a slap on the head.

Both Law and Bepo shrugged.

"Enough of this, you idiots are wasting my time."

Law knew the idiots weren't done when Penguin had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Yeah! Stop wasting his time Shachi, he could be watching her right now if you weren't here to bother him."

Shachi perked. "Yeah! I know right?"

Law shook his head.

Shachi and Penguin started whispering at each other then looked at him.

"He's doing it again." Shachi said.

"I'm really scared for my life right now." Penguin squirmed. "It's like someone replaced him with a clone or he finally snapped and he'll sell our organs to the black market." He added.

"I'll sell your organs to the black market if you don't fucking stop. Don't you have jobs to do?"

What were they even talking about? Law had seriously no idea. It was disturbing to know that Shachi and Penguin had the upper hand.

Out of nowhere Bepo said, "It's the smile."

"What smile?" Law asked.

"That!" Shachi and Penguin said in chorus.

"What are you even talking about?"

"Say her name, Bepo." Shachi demanded.

"Whose name? Luffy's?" The white haired man asked.

"There!" They shouted rudely pointing at Law.

"Doc! Please stop doing that, do that in front of her, not in front of everyone else!" Penguin cried.

Law scowled. "I'm not smiling."

Shachi slapped his face and started pulling his hair. "Oh my god. He doesn't realize it… Oh my god."

x

Luffy's shift ended.

Law was waiting outside by the time she stepped out of the therapy room leaning against the wall, looking up from his phone as the door opened. She wasn't really surprised anymore, it became a _thing_ – him, taking her home every day since the incident at the parking lot. She couldn't shake the feeling that he knew exactly what her schedule was or someone changed his to match hers.

He wasn't imposing. He gave her space when he thought she was getting overwhelmed by his constant presence.

She noticed all those _looks_. Luffy had seen him looking at her when he thinks her attention was towards something else. He wasn't as sneaky as he thought he was.

Luffy had always thought of herself as tough, able to take whatever that life shoves at her face and what happened five years ago proved that. Ace, Sabo and all of her friends had reminded her how strong she was.

It helped her grasp what had happened.

It helped her a lot.

Yet here she was, crumbling.

He was so _unfair_.

There was a certain comfort in their routine, provided she doesn't internalize what all _those _meant – mulling over things wasn't really her forte.

"Luffy." He greeted, smiling at her.

_Unfair._

She certainly doesn't want to think about the festival going inside her chest.

"Hey Law. Shift ended?" She asked, putting her scrubs inside the small back pack Nami had gave her. It was pretty convenient, she could bring Sanji's lunchboxes anywhere she goes.

He pushed himself off the wall and stood straight, putting his phone inside his pocket. "Yeah. You ready to go?"

"Uh. Sure."

They were half way towards Law's car when she had to ask and give an end to the stupid voice inside her head. That thing only gave her headaches, it was never a good thing to listen to it. It had been bothering her for a month and it was making her uneasy.

Like she was doing something wrong.

"Shouldn't you be, you know…?"

Law paused beside her. "Hmm?"

"You know… Ugh… Shouldn't you be taking your…" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "What's her name again? I forgot."

"Who?"

"Your girlfriend." She finally voiced out, brows furrowed. "I forgot her name but shouldn't you be taking her home instead of me?"

Law stared at her wide-eyed. She knew that look, he felt guilty.

She ignored the twinge in her chest and continued. "Cause I don't want to be the reason for a fight… I mean, I don't wanna ruin what you have because you're trying to be nice to me and… and… I don't" She groaned, biting her lip at her tightening chest. "I don't wanna hurt people like that… cause I know how it feels." She added, voice dropping into a whisper.

She pinched her eyes shut. She blinked against the tears building on the corner of her eyes.

She wouldn't cry. Not in front of _him_.

She didn't cry in front of him before, she wouldn't do it now.

Luffy inhaled sharply as warm arms wrapped around her back. She tried to tug away but Law held firm. She was drowning in his scent, his hands carefully and soothingly caressing her hair.

She leaned and hated how vulnerable she felt.

Everything was overwhelming her. The surge of emotion and feelings she had stubbornly pushed down throughout the years surfaced.

He cleared his throat, gently tipping Luffy's chin with his tattooed fingers.

"Luffy." He softly touched her face, tracing the scar below her eye. Law looked up and chuckled softly, he shook his head as if to snap himself from his thoughts.

She was forced to look at his eyes when he looked down, they were brimmed with tears. She didn't want him to feel sorry for her because that was their past. She never wanted to say what she had said but she was never one to keep them all inside.

They were becoming too much for her to handle.

She kept his gaze, his grey-eyes were sorrowful, like he was hurting himself the longer his hands lingered on Luffy's face.

She didn't want that.

But he didn't turn away. Instead, he closed them, held back the tears that were about to pour out.

Luffy had never seen him so open. So much more vulnerable than she was.

Nami had told her to keep it together. Her friend didn't want her to get hurt again. It seemed so easy to follow but the longer Luffy looked at Law's pained expression, the easier the cover she placed in her heart crumbled and fell over.

A single tear fell from her eyes seeing him in pain.

He wiped them with the so much sweetness and gentleness that it made her heart ache.

She grit her teeth. They weren't meant to do this. She was basically contradicting herself when she said she doesn't what Law's girlfriend to get hurt and ending up hurting him on the process.

She tried to pry off his hand on her face.

"Luffy, please. Just a little longer."

"But someone's waiting –"

"No one's waiting for me and if there was anyone, I wished they were you…" She stiffened as she heard those words.

He touched her lips with his thumb.

"Would you…" He cleared his throat and continued, "Would you listen to this guy once more? I know… I know its gold coming from me but please. Let me explain. I know its five years too late but I want you to know."

Luffy didn't like that he sounded desperate and frantic.

"And… and after that, you can do whatever you want. If you don't want to see me or to be near me anymore I'd respect that. I'll leave you alone even though I don't really want to." The grip on her back tightened.

She closed her eyes, it was a surprise seeing him. She had never expected for _things_ to happen. It was true that she didn't want him to dig out the feeling she tried so hard to keep but the thought of not seeing him again made her heart twinge more than the fear of opening up her heart and making him see what he meant to her after all those years.

"Please? Would you hear this stupid guy out?" He asked with a hoarse voice, smiling amidst the tear that was slowly sliding on his cheek.

Luffy raised her hand, softly touching his cheek and wiping that tear.

She doubted she could trust her voice.

So she nodded; along with the thunderous beat of her heart.

x

Law had walked her to the stairs leading to her place, cars were already lining up for parking space as the restaurant opened up for the night.

When she made it to the door, she turned around and waved at him.

Law smiled.

He looked earnest as he waved back at her, dark hair swept over at one side as the breeze from the sea went inland. His eyes were glued to her, as if in awe with a little glimmer in them.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said and walked towards his car after she nodded.

The moment he turned his back, Luffy immediately opened the door and rushed towards her room earning a look from Zoro who was lounging in the living room, watching some sort of movie while drinking his beer.

She threw her bag on the floor and dove in her bed, bouncing as the mattress shook from her momentum.

She pulled a pillow and screamed.

She breathed heavily as she rolled on her back and hugged her pillow tight. She couldn't help but remember her conversation with Nami a month ago.

"_Are you okay?" Nami asked her the moment they were inside her room, hands holding her shoulders firmly. Luffy's clothes from their morning rush were still haphazardly cluttered on the floor. _

_Nami sounded so calm and gentle and on the verge of crying. Luffy hated it when she was the reason for her friend's emotional turmoil. She wanted to see them happy and laugh, not cry over her feelings._

"_I am, Nami. Please don't cry over me."_

_Nami groaned, blinking and rolling her eyes. "I'm not crying. It takes a lot to make a bad bitch like me cry. You should know that."_

"_Shishishi, okay. You're not." She looked at her best friend. Fierce, a protector when Luffy can't be one, a steady port. She was really lucky to have them._

"_Are you really okay?" She asked again and Luffy nodded. Nami's caramel eyes studied her for a moment then she sighed._

"_Sometimes I wish I couldn't read you easily… guess we spent too much time with each other. It made me see through all that façade you think you don't wear, Luffy." she said._

_Luffy frowned. What did she mean by that? _

_Nami led her towards her bed, picking up the clothes that Luffy left on the floor. Nami hated it when Usopp and Luffy calls her Mom but with all the fussing she does, she really was the mother of the group._

_They sat quietly side by side, sitting comfortably until Nami pulled her into a hug._

"_I know you're trying to protect me and Usopp and unfortunately, that bastard more than yourself…" She sighed._

"_He left you without a reason and now he's back." She faced Luffy and tapped her chest. "And I know what's in here Lu. Frankly speaking, I don't like it." Nami took both of her hands and earnestly looked into her eyes._

"_Maybe at some point, I'd understand why after all those years, what's in there never changed. I don't know how you do it, really. I would've mangled him the moment I saw him if it was me. I wanted to strangle him earlier but I knew you wouldn't like that because after everything that happened, it's _still him_." _

_Luffy inhaled sharply. Whatever she felt the moment she saw Law was more concrete now that Nami mentioned it._

_She tried not to think about it. Distracted herself with work, chores that didn't really went well and ended up making a mess of their apartment, and even food._

_But no matter what she did, it was there._

_Always have been._

"_It's okay to talk about it Luffy. I'll nag about it but I'll listen. There's no point in being against it when you _already decided_… I can see it in your eyes." She shook her head. "And god knows you're stubborn, I'd die of old age before I convince you but it's not my heart that's at stake here. It's yours…" She squeezed Luffy's hand. "Now tell me, what do you really feel?"_

_Luffy chuckled and closed her eyes. How does she feel?_

_Mostly confused._

"_I need words, Lu."_

"_I'm…I'm confused. How could I… For years I tried to… I thought I did…" She took a deep breathe. "A bit scared? It's throwing me off, it seemed so easy. Me… and him again, it's… it's… ugh." Luffy smacked her head in their entwined hands._

"_Up." Nami pulled her up and hugged her tight. "It's okay, it's okay. I'm here. Usopp's here. Damn, even Zoro and Sanji. We got your back. Don't rush, Lu. I don't want to see you get hurt again."_

_Luffy nodded, hugging Nami tighter. "Thank you, Nami."_

"_Yeah. This would be a hundred thousand beri." She said, gently patting Luffy's back._

"_Eh?" Luffy pulled back, genuinely scared._

_Nami started to chuckle, shaking her head. "You doof, you're really something."_

"_That's like…" She started counting with her fingers, "half a month of meals, Nami!"_

_Her best friend stared at her, impassively and muttered. "Unbelievable."_

"_You know what? Let's make that two hundred thousand."_

"_Eh?! Ehh?!"_

Luffy closed her eyes.

She took a deep breath, calming the loud thudding of her heart.

She stared at the ceiling, the _thoughts_ in her mind bothered her. She wanted them to stop but they were freaking stubborn.

Groaning, she rolled on her side.

Things like this were meant for Sabo or Ace or Nami or for people who actually thought about things. Not her!

Nami said she already decided. Yet even Luffy herself doesn't understand.

Her eyes fell onto the corner of her room, where her karate uniform hung.

Ah. Another day in the life of Monkey D. Luffy. Where being mature and responsible was the least common thing to do.

What else could take her mind off things? Of course, fighting. She was _so great_ at "adulting", it was no wonder why her brothers don't want her off their sights.

She screamed once again and slapping her face. She hoped her voice didn't reach the restaurant below. It would be bad if the costumers thought Zeff kept a torture chamber right on top of Baratie.

Scrambling off her bed, she changed into her karate uniform, tugging the belt tight and stomped out of her room.

Zoro was looking at her from the lounge with a raised brow. "Oh good. Thought you choked yourself with all that muffled screaming."

"Shishishi, sorry Zoro. Did I interrupt your tv time?" She answered, absolutely didn't sound like she was the least sorry. Couldn't really blame her, Luffy loved making fun of her friends.

She casually walked towards their fridge and opening it with a bang. With deep concentration, Luffy looked for whatever edible food that was not green. Somebody had hidden all the left over pizza they had last night and her bet was Usopp.

She'd deal with that later.

"If you're looking for food, the cook will be here later. They're preparing for some rich-ass people." Zoro took a swig of his beer and moved to the far end of the couch.

Luffy slumped, there goes one of her distraction. She settled on the other side of the couch, legs tucked under her. She grunted and slammed her head on the arm of their couch.

Freeing her feet from their confines, she straightened her leg and started kicking Zoro's leg.

"The fuck's wrong with you?" Zoro scowled. He looked cool like that, Luffy thought. "Your feet's gross. They stink."

She pouted. "No, they don't! You stink!"

Zoro rolled his eyes and took another swig of his beer. He stared at her for a long time and she tilted her head. "So… that doctor of yours."

She groaned. Why couldn't she have a peaceful night without the mention of Law's name? Why?!

"I didn't even mention his name," Zoro said as he shook his head. "But anyway, that Law of yours."

Luffy blinked, her face getting warmer, guess she said that out loud. "He's…" she cleared her throat. "He's not mine, Zoro. He doesn't belong to anyone."

"Huh, could've fooled me." They remained quiet for a moment then Zoro continued talking. "I know what happened between you two. Well, Usopp told us, it's hard not to notice with all the shit that happened a week ago. Our bad, if you're uncomfortable with that."

"Nah, it's okay. 'S not like I'm hiding it."

"Guy obviously still likes you though," he said bluntly.

She scrunched her nose, "No, he doesn't." She lied.

Scuffing, Zoro stood up from the couch and walked towards the fridge, pulling out four beer bottles. "I haven't known you that long but what I do know is you can't lie for shit. So what's up with that? It's rare for you to not go blast yourself into whatever that thing is between you and the doctor."

_Yeah, Lu. What's up with that?_ Her traitorous brain added.

Zoro went back the couch and placed one of the bottles in Luffy's hands.

She shouldn't really drink it, she has work tomorrow.

She drank the bottle in one go and blanched at the awful after taste.

Monkey D. Luffy – 1.

Righteous self – 0.

Zoro suddenly passed her another bottle. "Here, you look like you need more." Her hands moved on their own and the next thing she knew, Zoro took out the entire pack and placed it on the low table in front of the couch.

"Oh yeah, what's with the get up?" Zoro casually asked.

Luffy looked down at her karate uniform. "Ah. I wanted to spar!" She beamed, grinning widely. Her ears were starting to feel warm, slowly spreading and tingling into her neck and cheeks.

Zoro looked at her funny. "You're drunk." He shook his head, "Don't look at me like I ate your food. Curly brow's gonna kill me if he finds out I took your drunk ass to a sparring session."

"Shishishi. So… Zoro's afraid of Sanji huh? I think he will like to hear that."

"Are you sure you're not that witch's spawn?" Zoro grumbled.

"Nooopeee! Shishishi, she's my best friend though, also Usopp." Luffy scratched her head. "Hey, you're doing that thing! Not fair!"

"What thing?"

"Like…like you're trying to make me not think about sparring! Yeah! Nami does that a lot!" She pouted.

"Oi, don't compare me with that witch. Just go back to your room and sleep it off, we'll spar tomorrow," he said, pulling Luffy off the couch and pushing her towards her room.

She stood firm. "Eh? No! I'll tell Nami you called her a witch!"

Zoro facepalmed and groan. "Fine! Don't whine when I whoop your ass!" He stomped towards his and Sanji's room opening the door with a loud thud and stomped back with his sparring uniform.

"_I'll _whoop your ass!" Luffy retorted, puffing her chest. She suddenly remembered Sabo and covered her mouth as she looked around.

She exhaled in relief. Right, she wasn't living with them anymore.

x

They ended up throwing each other on the floor.

Quite literally.

She used every dirty trick she learned from her brothers when they were young. Jinbei would've cried if he saw her throw away years of training and fight like someone involved in a street brawl.

This probably was the most intense spar – brawl – she ever did with Zoro. She blames the alcohol, really. She wasn't thinking about boys with midnight blue hair, grey eyes and looks good in everything especially a white coat.

Nuh uh, that was lame.

"You're not focused, Lu." She heard Zoro say.

It was hard to keep her heart calm.

It was overwhelming knowing _everything._

It felt like high school once again.

It felt nice.

It felt like it was meant to happen.

They fit together like a perfect puzzle piece.

And she was afraid.

Her. _Monkey D. Luffy_ was afraid.

Afraid that everything will shatter again.

"Oof." She stared at the white light on the ceiling as she laid flat on the mat. She groaned as she pushed herself up. Shaking her head, she resumed her stance and moved away from Zoro.

"This isn't really you." He added, circling her. Luffy stepped back knowing Zoro had more advantage with his long reach.

But then again, she was faster.

Luffy growled and sidestep when Zoro dove towards her. She kicked his shin and slammed her elbow into his face.

"Fuck that hurt." Zoro groaned, rolling over and taking her outstretched hand. She heaved him up, muscles strainging with Zoro's weight.

"That's enough for today," he said, touching his right cheek. That surely will leave some bruising.

They both sat on the mat, breathing heavily. Luffy could feel the swirling in her head.

"So did that clear your head?" He asked.

"I don't really know."

Zoro hummed. "That's understandable but you see, people don't always get second chances…" He paused and looked away into his own reflection floating in the half mirror wall in the dojo.

"I lost someone before…I was young but it had hit me deep. I couldn't say that I have the same experience as you and I couldn't possibly imagine what it felt, what you went through but its times like these when you get to think about it. When would another chance come?" He looked at her and ruffled her already messy hair.

"I've seen you smile around the doctor –"

"He has a name Zoro."

"I thought you didn't want to hear it now?" He smirked. "I'm being considerate here."

Luffy shook her head and rolled her eyes. Very bad idea when she was already feeling the effects of alcohol and brawling.

"As I was saying, you looked even happier with him around. I don't know how that fucking works 'cause I already see that you're content with your life but when you're with him, you" he waved his hand, as if trying to find the right word… "Goddamn, I don't know how to fucking put it in words but you" He waved his hand again, "shine? That sounds dumb but yeah…you shine even brighter."

She smiled and teased, "I'd expect to get this kind of talk from Sanji and not you." But of course she knew. She knew Zoro had that in him.

"Yeah? Probably that bastard's rubbing on me." Zoro scoffed but he sounded fond. Luffy could see that smile he was trying to hide. Then he scowled and added, "Don't tell the cook I said that."

She looked at her sparring partner, head titling. Decipher the minute flow of emotions in his face. For a man who was gruff, it was obvious how much Zoro's actions showed all that deep love he had for Sanji.

"You really love each other huh." She said absentmindedly.

"Yeah…yeah we do." He answered solemnly.

It was amazing how Zoro and Sanji's relationship worked. They didn't need words to know that they loved each other.

_Could _they_ do that again?_

"Fuck, enough of this sappy shit. Come on. Food should be done by now."

Luffy stood immediately and groaned. She could feel all the bile coming up her throat and covered her mouth.

"Oh fuck no. Luffy, hold it in. I ain't cleaning after you." He moved back, avoiding her.

She shook her head.

She couldn't hold it in. She followed Zoro as the guy backed away from her.

"Now you're just being a little shit!"

Zoro scrambled towards the door.

Luffy! This ain't funny!"


	8. Chapter 8

The sun hid behind dark clouds when Law arrived in their mansion. He rolled down the window of his car and pressed a button on a pillar. The massive gates opened after a loud beep and he drove into the path towards their garage.

Law grabbed the white coat that hung on backseat before he walked out of his car. He slung it over his shoulder and headed to the main door.

He quickly went to his room avoiding interaction with the people in the mansion. He was too tired to have one of those.

After a quick shower, he pulled on his black sweat pants and hung the towel over his neck. Sitting down on his bed, he picked up his phone lying on the covers.

Tattooed fingers hovered over its screen which displayed Luffy's number. He'd lost count how many times he had done the action, trying to call her and then back out.

They both exchanged numbers after their talkbut he didn't receive any text from Luffy yet. He didn't want to text first and push her to reply. He wanted to follow her pace but he was getting worried. She didn't show up for work in two days.

He tried not to think too much out of it.

He really did.

But he was worried that he might've scared her away or she finally decided that he was not worth her time. That getting hurt once was enough and it was stupid to give him a second chance.

The logical side of him supposed she needed time to think about things while the other half kept telling him that she resigned and moved some place far away where Law couldn't bother her anymore. But if that really happened, his dad and uncle should've told him by now.

He sighed, exhaustion from worrying finally poured through him. He wanted nothing more than to just hear her voice for even a second.

He glanced over his phone and grumbled. "Ah. Fuck this."

Locking his phone, he went to his closet, discarding the towel on the floor. He grabbed a black hoodie and quickly put it on.

Grabbing the keys from his nightstand, he slipped out of his room closing the door behind him. He was already in the living room when he heard his dad's voice drift in the hallway.

"Heading out?" The man asked as he slowly walked towards the living room, holding a cup with both hands, hissing as the content of the cup spilled a bit.

He instinctually felt caught on the act of sneaking out. This totally reminded him of his teenage years when he'd go out without asking for permission to hang out with Luffy.

"Yeah," he answered casually.

Law walked towards him and took the cup from his dad's hand – it was scalding coffee, apparently. He placed the cup on the table while his dad beamed and sat on the couch, thankfully not tripping over nothing this time.

His dad took a sip of the coffee and sighed contentedly. "Want some?"

Tempting but he had to go. "Thanks but no thanks dad." He turned around headed towards the door.

"Law, hold on."

Law turned back around and faced his dad. "Yeah?"

His father looked at him up and down. He suddenly snickered making Law raise his eyebrow. "Wait let me grab something."

"Uh…okay?" He watched his dad almost trip as he ran towards the kitchen. He came running back holding something on his hand.

"Here, she'd like that." The blond handed Law a box of chocolate.

"Wai…what?" He spluttered, cheeks feeling warm. For fuck sake, he was not a teen.

"Oh please." His dad waved his hand and rolled his eyes. "Tell her I say hi, okay? I'd like to have tea with her again. Now go, shoo. Don't come home too late and play nice okay?"

"Oh my god, you're embarrassing." Law groaned as he facepalmed, he was seriously too old for this.

His dad cooed. "Look at you, this reminds of those days and I don't think I embarrassed you that much, mind you." His dad beamed. "Now go." His dad ushered him outside the door and looked over him happily as Law walked to their garage.

Law rubbed his face as he noticed that the gate was already opened when he reached the path heading outside. His dad was talking to his uncle animatedly, both standing beside the gate.

Well, at least his cousins were not around. He cringed, they'd probably put banners and use pompoms just to piss Law off.

He beeped at them as he passed them. His dad waved at him while his uncle had a knowing grin on his face.

They were surely too enthusiastic about this.

He was not even out of the estate when his phone rang. He stopped and opened his phone, hoping it was Luffy.

Law smacked his head on the steering wheel, making the car honk when he read the text from his uncle. He opened the car's compartment and growled. He rolled his window down and pulled out a box of glow in the dark condoms in the compartment and threw it out.

How the hell did his uncle manage to put it there?

He angrily texted back. _**"Kindly rot in a fucking sewer. Thank you."**_

Not a second later, his phone rang again.

"_**It's a joke, Law! It was my idea. Don't get mad at Doffy." - Dad **_

Law groaned. Why was his family like this?

x

The longer Law stood outside Luffy's apartment door, the more he thought how bad of an idea it was. He could've texted or called but no, he choose to see her. Was he always this impulsive? Any sane person would've rang that doorbell and asked where she was. He cringed, that only made him look like he was demanding to see her.

He'd been staring at the doorbell for thirty minutes now. He checked his phone for the time and cringed when it was already quarter to eleven. The cars parked in the restaurant's parking lot was already dwindling.

He wouldn't be surprised if some patron from the restaurant saw him standing suspiciously in front of the door and called the police.

Law huffed. Why was he so goddamn nervous about this?

"_You were driven away before, remember?"_ His brain eagerly supplied. Groaning, he sat on the stairs and dragged his hands through his hair. "She's probably already asleep right now." He muttered to himself.

He went down the stairs and continued pacing. He paused and looked at the daunting door, internally pushing himself to just fucking knock and get it over with. How fucking hard was that?

Before he changed his mind – again, Law headed up the stairs, striding two steps at a time. He inhaled deeply. "You can do this." He told himself. He shook his hand and was about to press the doorbell when the door opened on its own.

Usopp stood stiffly in the doorway.

"How freaking long were you planning to stand in front our apartment like a criminal, man?" the man huffed with a disapproving frown – although it came out weird as he yawned. He must've looked confused for Usopp to point at the upper corner of the door where a camera was placed, angled exactly to show who was at the door.

"Oh." Law uttered.

Usopp scratched his head, curly hair popping out of his ponytail. "If you're looking for Luffy, she's already asleep. I'd wake her up but she wasn't feeling well. The dumbass thought it was a good idea to practice karate while drunk and" Usopp looked at Law looking like he was about to barf and laugh at the same time "slipped on her own vomit and sprained her ankle."

He was right to get worried. He groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. It must've been severe or even infected considering she had to skip work for two days. Did she even go to the hospital? He would've known if she did. What if she was still in pain right now? She was going to give Law a heart attack even before she gives an answer, wasn't she?

"Why Luffy?" He asked himself, sighing. The woman was still as reckless as ever.

Usopp scoffed. "Why indeed." He sagely added.

He looked at the man in front of him, Usopp was trying his best to look impassive. "Sure she wasn't thinking about males in their early twenties with grey eyes and tattoos and was a total idiot." Usopp muttered to himself, but Law was sure that Usopp made sure that he would hear it.

Well fuck. It was his fault, wasn't it? Wait. Law grey eyes widened. Was Usopp low-key throwing shade at him?

He groaned internally. Right, overprotective friends. Still reasonable after what he did. So he'd take that.

"Ah man. That was easy. I was kidding." He chuckled. "Or probably half-truth? Half-lie? Who knows? "He shrugged. "I'll tell her you came to visit."

Usopp was about to close the door when _a loud thud echoed_ behind him. He squeaked and jumped out of the door and into the stairs. Law grabbed the strap of his jumper before he would've rolled down the stairs, saving him from months' worth of orthopedic casts.

Law heard him take a sharp breath as he steadied the man. "Holy shit. I could've died." Usopp exclaimed, clutching his chest. He looked at Law, "Thanks man."

Law nodded.

There was another sound, this time it was a cluttering of frying pans and utensils. "Shit." Usopp was already behind him. The door slightly creaked and the lights inside the apartment were all turned off.

Law could feel Usopp shaking behind him. "You're not checking that?" Law asked as he looked behind.

"No way man – I mean… I'm sure its fine! Haha! Must be Sanji's cat." He nodded to himself. Then said again, "Yeah! His cat!" Was he trying to convince himself that it was 'Sanji's cat'? Because Law was sure he didn't see any trace of _that _cat when he was in their apartment. And if there was someone else in there… Luffy was in there possibly alone with her sprained ankle.

"Who else is inside the house besides Luffy?" Law asked.

"Duh, me? Sanji's still working, Nami's at her client's house and we don't really wonder where Zoro is anymore, he usually shows up when you need him. " Usopp answered.

"You're right here Usopp and Luffy's alone in there with god knows who."

"She practices martial arts! She can fight whoever or whatever it is!"

Law was getting a damn headache. "She sprained her ankle, Usopp."

"I'm sure it's not a burglar! I made an alarm system. It should've sounded if someone broke in," Usopp said.

"You know what? Fuck it, I'm going in." Law was about to storm in and make sure Luffy was safe but Usopp grabbed his arm. "What? If you're not going to check then I am."

The man let go of his arm and bit his finger nail. "What if…what if it's a ghost?"

Law gaped. "Are you fucking kidding me? What are you, four?" Law shook his head and entered.

"Man, don't leave me here!" Usopp squeaked and followed him closely, grabbing the hem of his hoodie. Law rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone from his sweat pants' pocket. He tapped the device and activated its flashlight feature.

There was a loud scuffle and a hiss around the kitchen.

"If I die, I'm going to blame you. I'll haunt you forever, man." Usopp whispered behind him, tugging his hoodie.

"Shhhh. Do you hear that?" Law asked.

"What?!" Usopp squeaked behind him.

Law strained his hearing, it was hard when someone was muttering prayers behind him. "It sounds like someone's chewing."

"C-ch-chewing? Is it a zombie? A werewolf? Annbelle? Oh my god, it probably ate Luffy! Oh my god. Ace and Sabo's gonna kill me!" He cried out.

"Shut up Usopp before I feed you to whatever it is too," Law said, gritting his teeth. He tried to listen for more sound but it was totally quiet aside from Usopp's incessant gasping. "Where's the light switch?" Law asked.

"B- Behind me."

"Turn it on then."

"I-I- I can't."

"Why the fuck not?" Law groaned.

"S-s-s-sssomething's breathing on my neck!" Usopp screamed.

Law turned around pointing the flash light on whoever's touching Usopp. Guess his phone's going to be a casualty, he thought. He threw his phone _hard_ making it shatter the moment he saw someone wearing a clown mask.

He hoped Luffy was fine.

Law heard a muffled ouch and he immediately threw himself on the intruder. They both fell with a loud thud. The person below him groaned and tried to wiggle out of his lock.

"Oh no, you don't." He held them tighter. "Usopp, turn on the lights now!" Law snapped. He could hear Usopp scrambling his way towards the switch.

The lights turned on and Law had to blink multiple times to adjust to the brightness. He looked up ahead and saw Sanji and Zoro gawking at them. He looked around and sighed in relief when he saw Usopp's face planted near his leg.

Huh. He must've tripped.

Meh. He'd live.

The body below him didn't stop squirming. He looked down, only to see the mask come off and rolling beside the intruder's face only to reveal a disheveled looking Luffy. She looked at him wide eyed, her long raven hair splayed on the floor looking like tentacles, sporting a glaring reddish bump on her forehead.

"Can somebody fucking explain what the hell is going on?" Sanji screeched. .

Well… Shit.

x

It took them a while…Who was Law kidding.

It felt like an eternity explaining what happened to the chef who was seething. It also took ages listening to Sanji give them a stern lesson on how to treat women properly, along with the blond's hovering over Luffy. Zoro eventually felt sorry for them and dragged the cook to the kitchen which really needed cleaning after what Luffy did.

Law sat down beside Luffy who was still laughing herself to the point of tearing up. The bump on her forehead wasn't as red as it was earlier. Law took care of it but there was some minor bruising. He still felt terribly bad and apologized multiple times. Luffy casually waved off his apology and repeatedly mentioned how hilarious it was.

He offered to send her and Usopp to the hospital but Luffy only looked at him with a big grin on her face and said there was no need; that Law himself could take care of everything.

Sanji had given him cloth and ice for Usopp, who hit his nose on the floor. Good thing it wasn't broken.

"I hate you, Luffy!" Usopp groaned. Zoro kept snickering on the other couch, drinking his beer, thoroughly amused by the scene in front of him.

The woman in question laughed even more, clutching her stomach and snorting.

Law stared, she was so goddamn adorable.

"I'd get you back!" Usopp promised.

"Stop threatening Luffy, Usopp!" Sanji scolded from the kitchen. He was still cleaning the mess that Luffy left behind.

Luffy stuck her tongue out and sighed, leaning on the couch's arm. Law made sure her ankle was elevated by stacking pillows on the table where she rested her foot, at least it wasn't swollen anymore. "That's for hiding the pizza," she said, wiping the tears in the corner of her eyes.

"For the millionth time Luffy, I didn't hide them! You ate all of it!" Usopp waved his free hand, looking utterly defeated.

Luffy pouted and glanced at the side. "No, I didn't."

Usopp looked at her deadpanned. "Of course, of course. It magically disappeared. Got sucked into the abyss." He sighed. "I'm going to sleep." He said, narrowing his eyes and doing an "I'm watching you" sign with his fingers.

"Shishishi. Remember to check under your bed, Usopp."

He faltered for a bit then huffed and did the gesture again as he stomped towards his room. "There's nothing there!"

Zoro eyed the two of them and stood up. "I'll go help Sanji." He walked towards the kitchen but backtracked. "Ah, Law. You can stay for the night, we'd feel better if you could look after Luffy's dumb ass while Nami's away."

"Shut up, Marimo. You're the dumbass." Sanji retorted protecting Luffy's dignity. Law stared at Sanji and Zoro who seemed to have communicated telepathically.

"I'll make sure she's fine but I can drive home," Law said.

"No man, it's late. I'll go grab a blanket and pillows for you." Zoro grinned. "Or do you want to sleep in Luffy's room?"

Law spluttered. "Wha- No. The living room is fine. Thank you."

Zoro cackled as he walked towards their room. He could see Sanji shaking his head and cursing the green-haired man as he headed to the living room.

Sanji placed a plate of pasta on the table. "Here Luffy-chwan, eat up. You're very dear to me but I don't want my kitchen to be in the state of chaos again so just call the restaurant's number next time okay? I'll send Patty for your food."

Luffy grinned. "Sorry, Sanji. I was just really hungry and Usopp wasn't answering me."

The blond looked at Law. "Is it okay to take the cloth now or do we need to replace it?"

Law gently removed Luffy's hand from her forehead and checked the bump. "That should be fine. You can take it."

"Thank you Sanji!" Luffy beamed making Sanji swoon.

"Anything for you Luffy-chwan."

Zoro returned in the living room with two pillows tucked under each of his arm and a blanket on each hand. He dumped them on the other couch.

"Come on, cook. You need to be up early tomorrow." Zoro grabbed Sanji's hand.

"Wait. Wait. Why are there four pillows and two blankets?" The blond asked.

"I'll be sleeping here too!" Luffy enthusiastically replied.

"You're hurt Lu. You need to sleep on a proper bed, not a couch," Law said.

"Then, you'll sleep with me in my room then. It would be sad sleeping alone in here." She gestured her hand around.

Does she even know what the hell she was taking about? This woman will seriously give Law a heart attack soon.

"What?! No!" The blond exclaim.

"Eh? But it's like a sleep over so I'll sleep here." She pouted.

Law internally face palmed. Right this Luffy they're talking too.

The cook looked conflicted. He looked between Law and Luffy, brows furrowed.

"Let's go, eyebrows. Zeff will skin you alive if you end up late tomorrow."

Sanji sighed. "Alright. Alright. I'm coming."

"That's what he said." Zoro quickly said, smirking.

It was fascinating how Sanji's face turned into different shades of red. "Idiot!" He tried to composed himself and stared down at Law. Which really wasn't working when he was still flushed in embarrassment. "You. No funny business in my living room."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "They're adults they can do whatever the hell they want. Come on now." Zoro dragged his boyfriend into the hallways who was still grumbling about Luffy's innocence.

"Shishishi. They're really funny."

Law shook his head. "They sure are."

"Eat, Law," She said while pointing at the pasta on the table.

"You want to share your food with me?" He carefully asked, brows raised.

She smiled. "Yep! I'll go grab another fork."

"No, no. I'll do it." Law stood and went to the kitchen, he wondered how on earth Sanji made it look immaculate in thirty minutes right after Luffy made it look like a warzone. He found the fork neatly stacked beside the spoon and grabbed one.

He sat back on the couch and placed the fork on the plate.

"Eat up, Sanji's food is reallllly good!"

"What about you?"

"I'll eat but you gotta eat first, I'm quite sure you missed your dinner… or maybe your lunch." He couldn't help but chuckle as she narrowed her eyes at him then looking triumphant as he tasted the pasta.

"Oh wow. This is really good."

Luffy beamed. "Cause it's Sanji's food!"

x

They were halfway on the second Shrek movie when Luffy's body slumped on his shoulder. He looked to his side and saw her face mushed on his shoulder, little bit of drool ran down the _corner of her mouth._

He tried shaking his shoulder. "Lu." Tried it multiple times to no avail. She was still soundly asleep even with her awkward position. That had got to be uncomfortable, Law thought.

He removed the pillow that she was hugging and placed it behind her. Gently laying her down, he grabbed a blanket from the other couch and tucked her in. Law watched as the blanket rose and fell with her breathing. She looked so small lying under the thick blanket.

He could've had more of these moments with her before if only he didn't – he shook his head. Just like what his dad said, there was no point thinking about what could've been. Still it eats him most of the time.

The guilt.

It was always there.

But he had taken it as a positive sign that he was atoning for what he did. That he could do better. That he could make her happier after the shit that he made her went through.

That they could be happy.

Together.

It made him laugh that he sounded so goddamn optimistic, there were still so many things to conquer, considering her friends were still prickly towards him and by gods, her brothers would skin him alive if they had the opportunity. But looking at Luffy's sleeping figure and looking at her overall view in life, probably he could use a little optimism too.

He'd wait. He'd wait no matter how long Luffy decides.

And whatever her decision may be, he was going to accept it. If she wants him back in her life as a friend, he'd happily accept it. As long as he could see her smile. As long as he got to be a part of the people who makes her smile.

It was amazing how she made him realize the brighter side of life.

He stood up and tiptoed past the low table when Usopp came back to the kitchen, turning on the lights. Law acknowledge his presence by shaking his head as the other man gestured a bottle of water at him from the fridge.

He took a second to gaze at her and smiled contentedly. For a moment, he tapped his sweatpants' pocket for his phone to send his dad a message. He groaned remembering what happened to it and cringed as guilt again ebbed in his brain.

His dad would probably overreact that he was out till morning or fucking tease him the entire month for sleeping over in _Luffy's _apartment. Not to mention his uncle.

For fuck sake, it was going to be a party in the mansion if they knew.

He snapped out his dark thoughts when Luffy murmured something on her sleep. Sighing fondly, he walked to where she was sleeping and straightened her leg and propped it with the extra pillows Zoro brought. This woman ought to look out for herself more.

Law slowly walked towards Usopp minding the noise he was making. The man looked at him expectantly. "Could you tell her I had to go home? My phone's broken and my dad's going to freak out if I stay out. He may be also waiting for me."

Usopp snickered and Law raised an eyebrow. "What are you, ten?" He said and tried to muffle his laugh.

Law rolled his eyes. "Okay, that's fair."

The other man seemed to calm down and took a sip of his water. "Aight man. I'll tell her."

"Thanks." Law walked towards the door, gazing one more time at Luffy who was now curled up in the couch with the blanket almost falling off the couch. Law went back to the couch and checked her foot before he placed the blanket over her.

Usopp was already waiting at the door, holding the knob.

"Thanks for… letting me spend time with her." Law said. What he learned from all the things that happened was to be honest. Best be honest with his motive to Luffy's friends too.

Usopp looked straight at him, eyes brimming with confidence. "She looks happy and I want her to be happy," he said. "Whatever this is," he motioned his hand in the space between Law and the sleeping person on the couch, "better not hurt her again, Law. I'm not gonna threaten you nor rat you out to her brothers." He cringed. "I really don't want to be in your place cause if her brothers find out…well, for the lack of better word… you're fucked." He said bluntly.

Yeah. He knew that already.

"But if you're going to do the same thing you did before then just stop now man, she deserves someone better." Usopp frowned. "She doesn't have to go _through_ that again."

Law accepted Usopp's words with a nod before turning on his heels and walked off towards where he parked his car. He shoved _his_ hands into his sweat pants' pockets as the cold wind gust from the sea. The gentle sound of waves lapping the shore filled the night's silence.

He looked up.

Only the moon above and the stars twinkling heard the promise he made.


	9. Chapter 9

By the time Luffy packed half of the things she needed for a week-long vacation, she already convinced herself that her emotions were under control – gods help her with that – and that she could travel back to Wind Mill, meet her brothers and spend an entire week with them in the jungle without a care to the world outside theirs just like when they were kids without yapping out her current dilemma.

It wasn't a dilemma per se. She just doesn't want to 'accidentally' spill Law's name around her brothers. And no, she wasn't hiding the fact that her ex-boyfriend was courting her again to the two most important people in her life. Luffy wanted them to know what's happening around her in her own pace. How could she explain herself when she hasn't sorted out _everything?_

She just wanted to have some time alone with them before they go into their married lives, be busy with married-people obligations and be the younger sister – who always had her way – they'd always doted on without thinking of other things because those _other things_ were driving her _slightly insane_. Things were definitely getting somewhere with her and Law albeit a bit too fast for her liking, she knew that much and she didn't want them to spiral out of control though who was she kidding? Everyone and their grandmothers knew that she had no 'control' over everything in her life.

But then again, when did she had reins in her own life? Whatever was thrown at her, she rides along with it and does her darndest to make the best out of it.

Except for things that were related to a certain person she was – _is_ – so utterly fond of. No matter how many times she wracked her brain and her stupid, idiotic heart to be sensible, she still _sees_ him, _feels_ him. She finds it funny. She felt like she was in a stupid little rom-com directed by a desperate person. Yet when she looked over the previous events in her life, she couldn't deny that it was totally like that.

She could see for the past two months since their 'talk' that Law was committed to making it back in her life and apparently also making her comfortable with everything he does around her. She found that really caring of him. Their interactions hadn't been stiff since he finally opened up to her. It was less awkward. They dwelled more into showing each other how much they've grown within the five years they spent apart.

Things wouldn't be a mess if only Law had been outright honest since the very beginning. A teeny tiny part of Luffy resented it but it didn't matter in the end, it was the past. She couldn't force and bring herself to hate someone who bared themselves and apologized for their mistakes, who was willing to do whatever for Luffy to give them a second chance.

It was some sort of closure… their talk. It opened another chapter in their lives. It was not; Luffy and Law; high school sweethearts who took the world by storm but Law and Luffy; adults trying their best to live in a crazy world, deal with their issues in a mature and healthy way, rediscover each other's flaws and imperfections, learn to accept them and improve from where they stood.

She couldn't help but be proud of what she had done so far but she also couldn't help and ask herself, would her brother be proud of her too? Somehow, for the first time in her life, Luffy was scared to know the answer.

She bit her lip. She didn't want to disappoint them.

A knock on the door made her look towards the door, tilting her head she called out. "Door's not locked, you can barge in, s'unlike you guys to knock. It's ten years too late for that."

The door cracked open and Nami stood there with her arms crossed over her chest, eyebrow arching. "Was that sass I heard?"

"Uh. No?" She lied.

"FYI, you barge in our rooms _all_ the damn time. Don't talk like you don't do the same." Nami shook her head and sauntered toward Luffy's bed. She opened Luffy's red backpack then looked unimpressed at Luffy.

"I know. I'm trying to make it neat! Don't look at me like that!" Luffy pouted, pulling out all the clothes that she already shoved inside. She should've finished her packing faster, Nami was so meticulous about things like this and ends up giving her a lesson on taking care of her own stuff. How on earth Nami didn't get tired of repeating the same speech to Luffy since the year they met, she didn't really know. Couldn't really fathom that. Even Ace and Sabo gave up.

"Why don't you use a luggage? It's easier that way." Nami asked and sat beside her. "Move, I'll do it."

"Cause it's bulky and annoying! We're going somewhere in the forest, Nami. I doubt a luggage is appropriate for that kind of setting." Luffy huffed.

She yelped when Nami pinched her side. "Oww! That's not nice!" Luffy paused as if realizing something. She squinted at the woman beside her while rubbing the sore spot Nami pinched. "You're not gonna ask for a fee, are you?"

Nami grinned. "You're being a little shit so who knows?"

"Oh come on." She pouted. "I don't even have enough beri to buy snack at work. I'm your best friend! Your _best friend_! You should help me save up, not swindle money from me. Look at Usopp, he treats me food anytime he can!"

Nami knocked Luffy's head and scoffed. "You prank Usopp until he submits and buys you food, you mean. And we all know, you're not event trying to save up. If I don't hold your money, you'll end up using all of it in one lunch sitting."

She scrunched her nose. "I won't."

Nami looked at her deadpanned. She squirmed under her gaze. "Fine! Probably I will." Luffy conceded. "But I'll try my best not to." She added.

"Yeah right. And before we know it, you already have a debt that's worth a lifetime to pay. Now move a bit, so I can fold your clothes properly."

Luffy continued pouting. The orange-haired woman rolled her eyes and started folding Luffy's clothes. "Anyway, about your ride. We could ask Zoro to or wait. Not him, that's a terrible idea. You'll end up missing the entire trip and possibly ending up in Logue Town, the shadiest part to boot." She hummed as Luffy leaned against her shoulders. "Oh! I know, we could ask Usopp to drive you to the station instead of _the asshole_. I know you've heard this a million times but I'm gonna say it again, I don't trust him. What if he abducts you? He could totally pull that off."

Luffy giggled against Nami's shoulder. Her best friend still had reservations when it came to Law and Luffy understood. Her friend's looking out for her and it made her heart swell at how Nami was trying her best to be open minded about it Luffy and Law's not-really-relationship-quite-yet-sort-of-thing, to give Law a chance to show that he was trying to fix things between him and Luffy and with her friends.

"Shishishi, you know I can knock him out if he does that Nami."

"Maybe you should knock him out, you know, just for the fun of it."

"Nami."

"What? I'd pay to watch that."

"Luffffyyyyyy! Your ride's here!" Usopp screamed from the living room.

"Speak of the devil. Let him wait outside, I'm gonna take my damn time folding your clothes properly. If you miss your bus, it's not my fault. The asshole can just buy you another ticket."

Law parked his car near the restaurant's back so he could see Luffy come out from the second floor. He rolled down his car window and squinted as he watched the wave crash against the shore and rolled back to the sea. He leaned against his seat enjoying the warm breeze passing through his the windows.

Thirty minutes later, Luffy finally got out of the apartment wearing a white sunflower-printed loose top, denim short along with her sandals and the straw hat she always had since high school carrying a red backpack. He was about to go out and carry Luffy's bag when he saw Nami hug her and gave him a glare that could kill. There were some distance between them but he could feel the intensity of it as if promising eternal pain and damnation.

Luffy hugged her one last time and Law got out of his car and opened the front seat for Luffy.

"Hey." She greeted waving her hand, all smiles. She was a pure bundle of energy that Law couldn't help but bask in her presence. Even the sun couldn't compare to her.

"Hey." He smiled. "Ready?" He asked taking the bag from her back before she could even complain and placed it in the backseat.

"Absolutely!" She already settled herself on the front seat and tapping the dashboard.

Law chuckled. "Excited?"

She grinned. "Of course! I get to have an adventure with my brothers!" but then she scrunched her nose and said "but grandpa's gonna be there too."

And really, Law absolutely understand the sentiment. Luffy's grandfather was… something. Well, Luffy's _entire family_ was _something. _He only met him twice but the little interaction he did with the older man was more than enough to give Law nightmares back in high school. Insane was a word that couldn't describe how _insane_ he was. He had heard of the routines the old coot let his grandchildren experience and Law saw them first hand too. He was surprised how Luffy and her brothers survived to reach adulthood. Seriously, what kind of grandfather make their grandkids lose consciousness with a goddamn hug?

It was going to be worse this time around if ever the old man and Law meet considering the past he has with Luffy. He should probably write his will, just in case.

They were half-way to the station when Luffy asked him to stop at a convenience store – after her constant whining of course. He knew she was supposed to be at the station before nine in the morning but it didn't seem to bother her much that she was almost running late. She leapt out of the car the moment it went to a halt and all Law could do was shake his head fondly. God, he was so into this woman, wasn't he?

He got out of his car and followed her, albeit calmly. He wasn't exactly hungry but he'd rather watch over her. Not that she needed protection from harm or danger but he was scared she'd buy every food she sees in the store. Luffy was already carrying a horrendous amount of food, sort of – chocolate bars, chips, sandwiches, anything she could probably get her hands on and throw them in the basket, really – and ambled towards the casher who looked appalled as she placed them above the counter.

Law grabbed a couple of bottled water noticing there was absolutely no sign of any liquid except for a liter of soda. She yelped when he placed a cold one on her cheek and glared at him. Sometimes Law wonders what's the point of her glaring when she just looked like a pissed off hamster, it was goddamn cute which in turn encourages him to tease her more.

She had the audacity to look sheepish when Law placed the bottles on the counter. "You need these."

He pulled out his wallet and was about to the casher his card when Luffy's hand held his wrist. "No. I can pay this myself, you already treated me a lot of times."

He shrugged, it was for her so it didn't really matter. "It's just food."

She let go of his hand and gasped. "_It's just food?_ Are you crazy? It _is _food!"

"That's what I said."

"Mister, you said _"It's just food.'" _She mockingly copied him.

"Well… It is, isn't it?"

She stomped her foot as if to prove that Law was talking blasphemy. "No! You don't get to say it like that. You can't just make it sound like it's not a big deal!"

Law bit his inner cheek stopping himself from grinning. No matter how long they knew each other and the gap they had, it still makes him laugh how she gets worked up over her food. He finally stopped teasing her when she looked like she was about to knock him out. He had heard of stories about her from Bepo and he really didn't want to kiss the convenience store floor or explain to his dad how he got a black-eye.

She stuck her tongue out and crossed her arms over her chest. "Stupid Law!"

He couldn't help but chuckle as he ruffled her hair. "I'm just teasing you."

She 'hmmped' as she turned away from Law, at the same time giving him a stink-eye.

Luffy paid the casher – much to the guy's relief – and they both went back to the car. Law's was carrying two reusable bags full of food while Luffy followed behind him still grumbling about how stupid he was. He opened the back seat and placed the bags beside Luffy's backpack.

Law's eyes went round – no, he didn't scream– as his cold, wet T-shirt plastered against his back. He pulled the shirt over his head as quickly as he could, hissing at the culprit who was sprawled on the ground laughing herself off. He wrung his shirt and placed it on top of his car's hood. Luffy was on the ground, slapping her thighs as she laughed.

Law saw the half-full bottle lying on the ground and picked it up .Slowly, he walked towards Luffy. She stopped laughing looking startled as Law came closer. "Law, what are you doing?" She asked. Law could hear a note of confusion in there, also caution because he was sure he was emitting a murderous intent around him. She scrambled from the ground, moving away from him.

With a sinister grin he replied, "Nothing."

"Wait! That was payback! Law, no!"

They ended up buying new clothes from the convenience store for him and Luffy changing into her packed clothes. She was still giggling when they started driving back into their original route.

Law forgot how long it had been since he enjoyed someone's company thoroughly to the point where his jaws hurt from laughing too much. It was silly, two adults running around the convenience store's parking lot, splashing water at each other like kids but he didn't care. He was happy that he was making her smile again.

Luffy groaned beside him, he gave her a questioning look. She was playing with his phone as he drove to the station.

"Boooo. Game over. Someone's texting you."

"That could wait. I'm driving."

"They texted three times already, don't you think it's an emergency at the hospital?"

"If it was an emergency, they're going to call."

Luffy looked at him with a pout, looking utterly disappointed.

Welcome to Trafalgar Law's life, where one look from Luffy could lead him to things he probably wouldn't do in his own accord.

Law humored her and pulled over. Luffy smiled and gave him his phone. He unlocked it only to see a message from his uncle and two from his dad. Law opened the text and frowned. "It's dad and uncle."

"Is something wrong?" She asked. He shook his head and stared some more at the image displayed on his phone screen.

"No, not really."

"Then stop frowning."

He looked at her and smiled. "There, much better." She nodded to herself and grinned then she stared some more at him and pouted. "Something's bothering you. Is it the text?"

He nodded and showed her the message. She squinted and looked at him, head titling to the side. "It's your old mansion, isn't it? Back in Wind Mill?"

Law nodded.

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's cryptic."

"Why?"

"You don't get a random text from my uncle without a reason behind it."

"Really? Doffy messages me every day though. They're always with those cute emoji's too."

Law gaped. "Seriously?" He really couldn't put the word emoji and his uncle in one sentence, let alone imagine that Doffy was sending Luffy text messages with emojis every single day. God forbid he receives those.

She nodded. "Yeah, even your dad."

He face palmed. At this point he was scared to ask what the hell those two were sending her. Yeah, better save himself from the headache of trying to understand those two older men.

"What did your dad say anyway?"

"He wants to meet me during lunch. It's probably regarding my uncle's creepy message."

"Ohhh, probably you guys are going on vacation too?"

He gave his phone back to Luffy who took it eagerly and opened the game Bepo had told him to install. Bepo was really taking it seriously when he said he'd help Law.

"Luffy, just because you're having one doesn't mean my family's having a vacation too."

She shrugged. "You never know."

"And even if they are, I'll skip. I have work."

"You need one though. You're always in the hospital, do you even sleep? And it's gonna be fun spending time with your family." She said without looking away from the phone, tongue poking on the corner of her mouth, too deep into playing the game.

"That's my job and I sleep enough. Let's be honest, the only thing I'm going to experience while spending time with them is immense suffering."

She scrunched her nose. "You sound like Ace when he's being dramatic."

Rolling his eyes, he answered. "You don't live with them. They're insufferable and every one of them is nosy especially my dad and uncle."

She rolled her eyes. "They're family Law, stop being mean to them. They're funny and I like them _especially _your dad and uncle."

He scoffed. "Of course you'd say that."

"Yep, so you should treat them nicely."

Law stopped warily in front the entrance of the mansion. The moment he heard the crazy laughter of his uncle, he knew something was wrong. He stiffened up and slowly moved away from the door, he was not about to go in and get involved in whatever the hell was happening inside. Before he could even go back to his car and probably go to the hospital or anywhere away from the mansion, the door opened revealing his dad pulling a huge luggage behind him.

"Oh! Law! Good, you're here. We were just waiting for you!" The blond grinned.

Law looked at the luggage then at his dad. "You're going on a business trip?"

"Technically speaking, yes? Sort of?" His dad shrugged. "But that doesn't matter, I already packed your clothes and like I said we were waiting for you so that we can go!" The older man beamed.

Law had a really, really bad feeling about this. "Packed _my _clothes? And who's we?"

"Come on, talk while walking. Our transportation's ready."

Law stood firm, crossing his arms. His dad sighed. "The family, of course! Doffy and I were talking about how we all needed to spend time with each other, like a vacation but with the whole family. And we're not leaving you here alone. God knows you'll survive on coffee and nothing else."

"You just can't do that!"

"I can and I did."

"I have work! I have patients waiting for me!"

"Doffy already made sure that Dr. Kureha gets all your patient. Don't worry. You also don't have any scheduled operation."

The door fully opened and all… every goddamn one of his extended family walked out of the mansion all clad in varying summer clothes. For fuck sake, it wasn't even summer yet.

"Come along now nephew. I made sure you're going to have fun." His uncle grinned while putting on his obnoxious pink sunglasses.

His dad was looking at him all expectant and he couldn't say no to that face.

Law groaned. Turned out Luffy was right.

Wind Mill still looked the same since the last time he saw it. The streets are quiet unlike the hustle and bustle in Sabaody, there were more green fields and pastures for the eyes to see, the houses around town remained dainty and freshly colored. It looked serene and peaceful as they passed the center town. He could see tourists walking around enjoying the fresh scene the town gives. Though Law could see a new mall built bordering Wind mill and the next town, Mirror.

They arrived in the mansion without a hitch – if Law didn't consider the amount of time he wanted to throw himself out of the moving vehicle; a tour bus, his uncle bought just for the occasion; just to end his torment –, one by one the family gathered their luggage and brought it inside the mansion.

Considering how long the family had move to the city to expand their business, the mansion in Wind Mill was still in good condition. Apparently, his dad made sure someone was looking after it as it was where most of them spent their childhood. His dad can be pretty sentimental like that but then again considering the amount of money his dad and uncle have, they could always keep the mansion in good shape no matter how long.

Law sighed the moment he stepped inside the mansion and heard Five squealing. He heard heels clicking against the floor from the second floor and ambling on the stairs, stopping in front of Law. She stood a gleeful smile on her face – ones she used when she gets a proposal from some sleazy guy she probably met three hours ago.

He was going to suffer for a week, wasn't he?

"Law, I heard there was a really fancy boutique in the new mall in town!" She screamed happily at his face, hands clapping in giddiness. "Roci said you can accompany me!"

Law's eyes twitched. Grey eyes scanned the room and landed on two blond men standing beside each other, looking at the scene below them like it was their goddamn entertainment from the railing near the staircase. His father was obviously snickering and his uncle grinning while holding his younger brother's arm. Everyone knew his dad would've already rolled down the damned stairs if Doffy wasn't holding him.

"I'd like to rest for the meantime Five, the _impromptu_ travel that I was _unwillingly_ dragged into made me tired, why don't you ask Diola instead. For sure she'd want to see whatever that boutique has." He replied with all the bite he could muster, glancing between the woman in front of him and two people giving him hell.

The woman in front of him pouted, eyes already watering from his rejection. God, Law just want to dive into that pristine looking pool outside and never resurface. He sighed, sometimes he wondered whether the only enjoyment his family have was watching him suffer.

"B-but Roci said you need to buy your own suit for the charity event we'll attend. He-he said you needed me to help you choose."

Law glared at his dad. "Who said I'll attend? I don't remember giving anyone permission to drag me into those boring business events where every single person wants to show off who's fucking richer." Law snapped.

"Oh no, no with that attitude nephew." His uncle shook his head, wagging his finger in disappointment. "It's a charity event for the orphanage in Wind Mill, the one our family has been donating to for the last two decades. I want everyone to go."

Law clicked his tongue.

"I'm sorry for forgetting your suit, Law. I was excited to finally come back after a while." His dad said apologetically.

Law narrowed his eyes towards the blonds, this reminded him of that stupid intervention they did in his room. They were planning something stupid again, weren't they? They were both enjoying this too much. Too much that it was goddamn suspicious.

Law sighed. "Fine." He already felt like he signed up himself to his own torture.

Five immediately stopped sobbing and clasped Law's hands with hers. "You really needed me."

Law internally face palmed. What was his life anymore?


	10. Chapter 10

Right leg crossed over the other, Ace squinted his eyes as he leaned his back against a bench under a tree in front of the station. His sister was supposed to arrive an hour ago but for the life of him, she missed her bus. He should've expected this. This was Luffy he was talking about, she probably got carried away eating in the station and missed the announcement for her bus' departure.

He stood up and dusted his clothes. Looking left and right, he crossed through the pedestrian until he reached the the busy shops lining the front of the station, threading his way through the crowd.

The bus station was buzzling activity, busier than the last time he visited. Tourists were looking around carrying their luggage and locals taking care of their businesses. He got a few greetings and welcome back's here and there and by the time he reached the platform for the next arriving bus, he was already carrying two bags of fruits.

By the time the bus arrived, the waiting area was already crowded. Ace waited for the passengers to pour out, standing along the sideline. He grinned when he caught a glimpse of her sister's straw hat – well, the tip of her hat as he saw her try to tiptoe and push her way through the crowd. Ace shook his head fondly when she finally emerged from the crowd with an indignant huff, both hands on tightly holding her hat.

Ace chuckled when Luffy started turning around fully with a pout on her face. Thinking it was enough of him to get such an amusement looking at his sister getting frustrated, Ace walked towards the raven haired girl. He watched as Luffy's pouting lips immediately turned into a smile and she ran towards him.

"Accceeeeee!"

Ace hurriedly placed the bag of fruits on the ground and opened his arms seeing his sister leaping. With an oof, Ace hugged her sister who seemed to coil herself all over him.

"I missed you!" She beamed at him, her hat now hanging precariously on her head.

He placed the hat properly on her head. "Missed you too, Lu."

She looked around and frowned. "Where's Sabo?"

"Ah. He's with the future wifey. Apparently there's some sort of emergency and he had to go," Ace said as they started walking towards his car. Technically, it was Marco's but details.

"Is Koala okay?" She frowned even more.

Ace patted her head. "Don't worry, I'm sure they're fine."

They arrived in his car and started driving to one of Marco's properties where they would be staying while in Wind Mill. Someone else was already renting their old one and they didn't want to bother Makino since she had to watch over her cafe. Dadan's place in Wind Mill was out of the choices knowing that their grandpa will be staying there with or without the real occupants. Ace would rather rent a shack than stay in the same house with him.

Luffy was happily munching an apple he got from the station as they drove and talked about work and the things they'll be doing for the week. Ace noticed that she was checking her phone more than usual. Well, it wasn't really that unusual because Ace was sure her friends constantly text her to take care of herself. They were nice and sweet like that, Ace was happy that Luffy got friends that care about her so much. But he could tell that it was different.

Ace found himself glancing more often at his sister. It wasn't like he was being discreet but Luffy was oblivious to it all and continued tapping her phone, her half-eaten apple forgotten momentarily. She had this smile on her face. And contrary to what Sabo believes, he was not overreacting this time.

Not that he wasn't happy seeing his sister smile but it was different. It was not the usual full-teeth grin she carries around for the world to see but a little upturned lip; something intimate, soft and sweet. His senses were tingling and he knew something was different.

Ace continued to look. Luffy huffed slightly and rolled her eye at her phone, fondly exasperated at whoever it was she was texting. She then placed her phone in her bag with finality and continued eating her apples.

Who on earth could make Luffy pause in her food binge?

Casually, he asked. "So, how's Usopp and Nami?"

"Hmmm? Oh. Usopp's working on a new game, something about plants. I really don't get it yet, it's different from his old ones but he seems to enjoy it which is good and Nami's" she paused and looked at him "you should know about Nami, Ace."

He shrugged.

"Well.. she's super busy making sure everything would be perfect on your weddings. She actually just got back last night looking super tired. Good thing Vivi drove her home." She suddenly scrunched her nose, "She's tired but she still woke up early and help me pack for my trip. She worries too much, Nami should rest more."

Ace smiled, bless her sister's heart. Guilt was gently nibbling in his brain, he felt bad for doing something underhanded that she would never notice but he has to know. "Was that her texting you?"

Luffy's doe-eyes widened, her mouth formed a silent "O" and her lashes fluttered as she blinked. "Ah... No… I mean, she did… But earlier. Not that one I replied just now. But…yeah… yeah, she did. " She looked everywhere but Ace as she answered.

He raised his brows, surprisingly fast, he saw realization dawning in his sister's face. He could see the 'alert' sign in bold red letters above her sister's head. Suspicious considering the reaction but he knew she wasn't lying, he'd see it miles away if she was. So he asked more. " Your two new roommates?"

She shook her head, avoiding Ace's gaze and opting to nibble the apple she just pulled out of the bag.

"New friend?"

She tilted her head, a thing she would do when she's in deep thought or at least trying to think. "You could say that. I've known them for a while but we just met again. I work with them."

Again it was not a lie but the alarms in Ace's head were already blaring. He faced her and Luffy looked like she got busted eating Ace and Sabo's share of food. "I see. Do they have a name?"

She bit her lips then stared at Ace like she was weighing the consequences of her answer. Such an odd action coming from his sister of all people. She looked straight ahead with a sigh and muttered to herself. "I would eventually tell them anyway. It's not like I'm hiding it."

He didn't know whether to be proud that Luffy had started to think about the outcome of her actions or be alarmed because it was not her way of doing things. He was intently looking at his sister varying expression for the span of one minute that he almost forgot that he was driving. Luffy's eyes widened. "Duck!"

"Duck? Who names their kid Duck, Luffy?" He asked unbelieving and exasperated.

She pointed on the road. "No! Look out! Ducks!"

His gaze landed on the wobbly line a mother duck and her ducklings made as they crossed the street. Ace slammed his foot on the brake making the tires screech as the car abruptly stopped, he could smell the odor of burning rubber. Without delay, he looked at his sister to check if she was okay but Luffy was already out of the car and heading towards the front in haste.

His heart hammered inside his chest as he too stepped out of the car. His legs were shaking a bit thinking of what could've happened to Luffy with how irresponsible he was. It could've been another a bigger animal or worse, another car.

"Are you okay, Lu?" He asked the figure crouching, holding a duckling while the mother duck was quacking at the other side of the street.

She looked up. "Yeah, just making sure that they aren't hurt." She ruffled the duckling's feather and let it wobble towards its mom. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Ace nodded then pulled Luffy into a hug. "I'm sorry." He let his curiosity get the best of him, he mentally scolded himself and reminded himself that whoever or whatever's behind Luffy's smile could wait. He didn't want to endanger his sister again.

"I'm okay."

"Still, I was being irresponsible and stupid. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." She replied, hugging him tighter. Ace could feel the grin forming on her face against his chest. "Is this why Marco never lets you drive?"

He poked Luffy's side and she slipped out of his hug, giggling as she ran back to the seat. He shook his head. Give it to Luffy to act like nothing happened after almost getting into an accident.

And that reminded him. Good thing Marco wasn't around or Ace would never, ever drive a car again. Ever.

x

Fifteen minutes into watching the latest episode of JoJo while eating pizza, Ace and Luffy looked at each other when someone knocked on the door. Ace placed a finger on his lips. Luffy nodded and shoved the entire slice of pizza in her mouth and followed Ace as he crouched and moved slowly towards the window to check whoever was at the door.

Ace, Sabo and Luffy all learned the hard way to never open the door when their grandfather was in town unless they wanted an imprint of the door on their faces or give an opportunity to let the old geezer demonstrate his infamous "Fist of Love". Not that their grandpa ever stopped doing it at any given opportunity.

Nevertheless, they had to be cautious.

He sighed in relief when he saw Sabo and Koala standing outside. Luffy was already opening the door and giving both of them a hug.

"Luffy, look at you! You look great!" Koala exclaimed giving Luffy a once over then gave her another hug.

"I can't believe you guys would eat the pizza _I made_ without me. I feel betrayed." Sabo dramatically clutched his chest.

Koala rolled her eyes and slapped his arm. "Don't believe him, he ate all of the snacks Robin prepared at the orphanage."

"I thought there was an emergency?"He asked.

Koala answered, looking apologetic. "There were some minor hitches in the event the orphanage is preparing and I freaked out." She sighed "I really want this to happen. The kids could really use the money we could get out of the event."

Sabo slipped his arm around Koala's shoulder, giving her a side hug and soft kiss on her temple. She smiled at Sabo and Ace swore he saw hearts floating around his brother and his future sister-in-law. He wished he brought Marco with him.

"Oohh. Ohmmm! Oi wa'na elp!" Luffy shouted from the couch, mouth full pizza. He didn't even notice her moving back to the couch.

He groaned. "What did I say about talking when your mouth's full?" He eyed the pizza on the table and added. "And don't eat all of it." Which only got him a 'shishishi' with food flying out of her mouth.

Koala beamed from the door. "Really, Lu?"

Luffy licked her fingers and nodded. Ace shook his head. "Go wash your hands." Luffy only stuck her tongue out and wiped it on her shirt.

Why was she so goddamn stubborn? He just want 'lovingly' squish her face. He looked at Sabo and he knew that his brother was thinking the same.

"It's for the orphanage right? I'd like to help them too – eh wait. But is that okay with Ace and Sabo?"

Sabo was the one who answered, looking confused. "Why wouldn't it be okay?"

"We're supposed to go to the forest, remember?" Luffy asked.

He hummed then answered. "It's okay, it's not like the event will take an entire week. Right Koala?"

The brunette nodded. "It's actually just one night. We scheduled it on a Sunday too so our guests could come without us hindering their work."

Nodding, he said. "It's settled then. Trip starts tomorrow and ends on Saturday."

"I assume Luffy didn't bring any dress?" Koala asked sheepishly, tucking strands of her brunette hair behind her ear.

Ace raised an eyebrow. "You're talking about Luffy here, that's the last thing that's gonna be in her wardrobe, Koala. Does she need one?"

"Yep. We have a dress code for the event. It's nothing fancy but we decided to make it a little formal because of the guests." She explained.

Koala grinned, full of excitement. "Then I need to take Luffy with me."

"Where?" his sister asked.

"To the boutique! We're going to get you a pretty dress." Koala clapped her hands. Sabo and Ace laughed at the face Luffy was making. "Can't I wear jeans or something?"

"Nope." Koala answered. "You have a very important role so we have to doll you up. I'll treat you food after we finished looking for one."

The mentioned of food made the little pout on Luffy's lips disappeared as she brightened up. "Okay! I'll go change."

The trio watched Luffy leapt from the couch and bolting to her room.

"I'm still surprised that she was never abducted as a child with just the promise of food." Koala said absentmindedly.

Ace and Sabo both answered. "Oh, you have no idea."

Koala chuckled then paused. She stared at Ace and Sabo looking horrified. "Wait… what?!"

x

Law stared deadpan at the dress that Five showed him. This was what? The fifty-fifth dress she tried on and Law was so close to gouging his eyes out. He was tired. So freaking tired. He lost count of how many times they had circled the mall just to find 'the perfect dress' that would go along Five's 'perfect bag'. His calves were already sore from walking nonstop but Five didn't even break a sweat even with heels on.

He wondered why she even bothered asking him in the first place, it was not like his opinion mattered. The comments he gave when Five showed him the first few dresses were in fact genuine. But did she even listen?

Of course she didn't!

He wouldn't be sitting on a chair in the middle of the stupid boutique with men who looked like their souls already ascended and left their bodies. Law was actually surprised his own didn't leave him yet.

Carding his fingers through his hair, Law sighed. Five was showing him another dress and Law swore it was exactly the same dress she first tried on. His cousin huffed and sauntered back to the dress rack not liking the dismissive attitude he had, talking to the salesman who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else than here.

What a poor bastard.

Law's brows furrowed. He could leave Five behind. It was not like she would get lost but she would surely nag about it to his dad and his dad would make him feel guilty.

Was it worth it?

Law groaned and decided he had enough. "Fuck this."

He turned off his phone and waited until Five was inside the changing room. The moment she was in, Law casually walked out of the boutique and with big steps moved on to the next one. He made the mistake of hiding in the same shop before and she really looked for him.

Never again.

He was greeted by a saleslady when he entered the next boutique. Law paused and pulled a thousand beri from his wallet and gave it to her. "If a woman wearing something resembling a maid costume comes in and asks if you saw this man" he pointed at his own face "tell her that you didn't. Got it?"

The woman looked at him then at the money she was holding then back at Law and nodded.

"Good. Thanks." He grabbed a grey suit from the nearest rack and slipped into a curtain covered changing room. He waited for a bit peeked at the corner and saw Five showing the sales lady her phone – which Law was sure had his face on screen. The sales lady shook her head and Five left.

Law exhaled and leaned against the wall. He was still holding the suit he grabbed from the rack. He examined the material. It didn't look bad, he did need one and with how the sales lady handled his cousin. The shop deserved this sale.

He was about to try the suit when the curtain opened. Law was looking through the mirror and saw Luffy behind him wearing what seemed to be a wedding dress… Wait. Law chuckled, his brain must be playing tricks with him again. There was no way the Luffy in the mirror was real. In her last text, she mentioned that she was watching Jojo with his brothers and thus Law had the decency to let her spend the time with her brothers undisturbed knowing she surely missed them.

Mirror Luffy looked at him as she scratched her shoulder. "Law?"

Man, did it look real, he thought.

The dress was a simple but Luffy looked stunning, she let her hair down and had a crown of little white flowers on her head. He wouldn't mind seeing her walk an aisle while he stood at the end of it, waiting for her. Law gulped, seriously, his brain wasn't stopping in giving him ideas.

"Law? You okay? Hello?" Mirror Luffy waved at him. Suddenly, she grabbed his arm and spun him around, making him face her.

Wait.

"You're real?!"

"What do you mean I'm real? Of course, I am." She huffed and pulled the cloth that was sticking on her neck. Now Law could see how uncomfortable she was. A side of her neck was already red from her scratching.

"I thought you were just…" He shook his head. "Never mind."

She had her arms crossed over her chest but the right one went to tug the offending cloth on her neck again. "Did you miss your meal again? Cause you sound like someone who missed their meal."

Law chuckled. "I ate, thank you."

Luffy looked at him skeptically then hummed. "That's good then."

He was about to ask why she was wearing a wedding dress when a man wearing what seemed to be ballet clothes and a pink cape with swans on his shoulder squealed when he saw Luffy. And Law thought his uncle's fashion was too much.

His day just got weirder.

"Lu-chan, you didn't tell me you're getting married! I could've custom made a dress for you!" He fawned around Luffy, checking her dress and making her turn around. "You're so beautiful dear."

He caught Law standing awkwardly inside the dressing room and gasped. "Is this your fiancé, Lu-chan? My, my you two look absolutely perfect together! Such a beautiful young couple! I can still make your dress for the honeymoon, let's do that yeah? How about for your wedding party? You'd absolutely look good in red!" The man continued to talk with Luffy who looked totally overwhelmed.

The man was loud everyone inside the boutique looked at Law and Luffy with soft smiles on their faces. _This_ was _not_ what he expected to happen while shopping with his cousin. Not that he was complaining, seeing Luffy in the white dress.

"– How about kids? Did you two talk about that already?"

Law's eyes flit towards Luffy as he heard her breath catch, a shade of soft red tinged in her cheeks. She opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again. She bit her lips and Law's favorite pair of eyes landed on him as if prompting for him to answer.

When Law's attention was on the man, he had a hand above his chest over his heart and looked at the two of them longingly. "Ahhh, to be young and in love."

Law spluttered.

_In love?_

Law blinked.

_Did_ he love her?

That was no doubt a _yes_.

It started off as curiosity in high school. They were polar opposite. She was friendly, outgoing and extraordinarily selfless to the point where it irritated Law back in high school while Law liked being alone and keeping to himself.

Then came fascination. She was different from the girls that would follow him around. She didn't seem to care about what people thought of her. She did whatever she wanted. No one in Law's radar was the same as Luffy. She was an entirely different species with all the faceless people in his school.

Followed by respect. Admiration. Fondness.

Then _love_.

Yet a time came when he was clouded with negativity and insecurity which ended up hurting Luffy.

He tried to forget. He really did. And he realized how futile it was. For the women he tried to date or build a relationship with ended up being compared to the only person who inhabited his mind, his heart, his entire being.

He did love her; had always loved her. There was no one else.

The woman standing in front of him was the only woman who dominated his thoughts and his life.

"Yeah. It is," Law said.

He heard her made a surprised sound. Law chuckled, he was sure he said it during their talk. She turned to look at him with those big bright beautiful eyes. They looked into each other's eyes for a long quiet moment and Law wanted to drown in them.

She blinked as if to clear her vision and her lips tilted up in a soft smile. Law couldn't think of anything else but how perfect she was.

He cleared his throat at faced the man. "I'm Law. Luffy's not my fiancée – though she's… Luffy's someone very special to me." And he would do everything to make her his again, he thought.

"We only met here by chance." He added.

"Or it could be destiny." The man said, lashes fluttering as he dramatically wiped the corner of his eyes. "Ah! Love is beautiful!" He grinned eyeing the two of them. "The offer still stands if you guys ever decide to tie the knot."

"Bon-chan." Luffy whined, seeming to finally snap from whatever occupied her mind. She still looked flushed and Law bit the inside of his lip to stop himself from touching her cheek. It was not cool to touch without permission!

The man chuckled and shook his head, fingers also wagging along. "In time, darling. In time. You'll see." The sales lady that Law bribed excused herself and whispered something in the man's ears. The man nodded and the woman left.

"Ah. I suppose I need to go. I have an appointment with a bride to be for her wedding dress. It was nice seeing you again, Lu-chan." He hugged Luffy then faced Law.

"And you to Mr. Law, no dwindling around. She's one of a kind."

With that, the man left his pink cape fluttering and the swan on his shoulders nodded as he strutted away. Luffy sagged beside him. Law was alarmed. What if he made her uncomfortable?

"Did I said too much?" He asked.

She tilted her head. "Hmmm?"

"Did I said too much? I mean, with your friend." Law asked again.

"Oh. No, no." Luffy said while shaking her head. She pulled her dress. "This thing's been bothering me, I didn't want to wear it but Koala had her ways." She said with a frown.

"You have to take it off."

"Eh?"

Law coughed. "I mean, your neck's getting inflamed with the fabric. You should change."

The sound of the mall's public address system drowned Luffy's answer.

"_**Attention shoppers. This is an announcement for a lost person. A man named Trafalgar Law is lost inside the store. He is six feet and 2 inches tall, wearing a dark blue long sleeved shirt and slim fit blue jeans with black spots. If found, his cousin is waiting for him at the information center."**_

The announcement repeated and Law groaned. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Shishishi, Sanji does this all the time when Zoro gets lost during their grocery shopping."

He sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He was going to _talk_ with Five. The means his family was using to find him or get his attention was getting ridiculous. "I guess that's me." He couldn't help but shake his head and laugh along when Lufy just laughed at his reaction.

"I'll see you in a week." He said. Luffy waved at him as he paid the suit the grey suit he was holding. He shrugged, it should fit.

x

Luffy stood inside the closed dressing room. She leaned against the white walls of the cubicle and closed her eyes. Her stupid heart cramped in her chest with Law's answer. Her mind ran back to the memory of their talk.

_They both spent the whole car ride – which took a while with Sabaody's traffic, Luffy noticed that they were getting near Baratie as she saw the lamp posts lined along the boardwalk –quietly. Well as quiet as she could, Luffy wasn't one for stillness nor calm. Her fingers unconsciously tapped the car's window sill hating the silence._

_After a few minutes, Luffy finally had enough and turn on the car's stereo. She glanced at Law to check if he minded but he was focused on the road, his tattooed fingers were also restless, tapping against steering wheel then tightly gripping it like he needed something to ground himself._

_Luffy didn't see any cd's nor flash drives lying around so she opted for a radio station that actually played music instead of spamming ads. She sighed in relief and settled herself in her seat._

_There is not a single word, in the whole world  
That could describe the hurt the dullest knife just sawing and back and forth  
And ripping through the softest skin there ever was_

_How were you to know?  
Well, how were you to know?_

_And I, I hate to see your heart break  
I hate to see your eyes get darker as they close  
But I've been there before  
And I, I hate to see your heart break  
I hate to see your eyes get darker as they close  
But I've been there before_

_Halfway through the song Luffy started humming the melody, she found Law glancing at her in from the corner of her eyes._

_Love, happens all the time, to people who aren't kind  
And heroes who are blind,  
Expecting perfect script in movie scenes  
Once an awkward silence mystery_

_For all the air that's in your lungs  
For all the joy that is to come  
For all the things that you're alive to feel  
Just let the pain remind you hearts can heal_

_Well, how were you to know?  
Well, how were you to know?_

_Arriving at their destination, the first sound Luffy heard was the soft rushing of waves as they lapped against the shore. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying __soft warm breeze on her face. She had always loved the sea and she was so lucky to live right next to it._

_Law gave her a questioning stare when she removed her sandals and put it inside the car. She ran barefoot in the boardwalk, aiming for the stairs towards the sandy shore. She looked behind her, hair falling from her bun swaying with the sea breeze. Law rolled his eyes but Luffy could see the small tilt on the corner of his lips._

_Her toes dug into the sand as she continued to walk slowly along the shore. A few moments later, Law walked silently beside her. There was some sort of serenity as they walked barefooted in the damp sand side by side. They reached an area of the beach with a boardwalk leading to the sea. Law hadn't uttered a word until they reached the end of the wooden path and Luffy had given him the time._

_Breaking the silence as they stood watching the white waves, Law reached for her hand and grasped it. She realized as his hands engulfed hers, how comforting and familiar it felt. It should scare her but it didn't, in fact it made her feel safe. It felt like home._

"_I spent the entire drive thinking of ways to tell you everything," he said and shook his head. "I – I'm grateful that you agreed to this." He paused then chuckled bitterly, "__In the first place, I don't deserve forgiveness after what I've done. And I know I'm contradicting myself as we speak, for asking a second chance but here I am." He smiled but it was something Luffy didn't like seeing on his face. Like he was looking down on himself._

_She once thought that she'd find satisfaction to see him get hurt but she didn't. That wasn't her. She never wanted to hurt anyone or cause anyone pain. She found it petty, a waste of time and life opportunity that could've been used for something better, something that could make people happy._

_He gulped and the hand that was holding hers trembled. "I was a coward. While we spent some time away from each other, I got scared. Scared that you'd find someone better and I'd be forgotten, left behind."_

"_That's stupid." She blurted out._

_He chuckled. "I know and it was too late for me to realize it. But you see Luffy, I was dating **you**. You, an amazing person, someone who everyone admires. I couldn't help but think of negative things. You could have anyone you want, easily at that and I felt like I was being left behind even though I was the one who went away to pursue my dreams that you had fully supported. Then negativity brought even darker thoughts like, what if you choose to stay behind because you decided that I wasn't worth your time."_

_It had bothered her before. But now it didn't. The pain she felt made her stronger. Yes, she questioned her worth because it seemed so easy for Law to let her go. But listening to him, it was funny how they had been the same. That she wasn't the only one thinking that she wasn't worthy of him._

"_It's stupid really. I knew you loved me. You never failed to show it. But my insecurity and self-doubt took over. I ended it before I give everything to you. It sounds illogical, I know. And I can't defend myself because I was selfish, a coward, a mess.__In the end I hurt you. I know no matter how many times I apologize, it won't change the fact that I hurt you. And I know nothing I say will make up for all the pain I let you suffer…"_

"_When we met again back at Makino's… I had to imagine that the girl I was with was you. It's stupid isn't it? Cause there's no one else like you. I learned that the hard way."_

_He sighed. "And somehow I convinced myself that you didn't care with the way you reacted way back then. You agreed. It blew me away that you didn't fight for what we had."_

_Luffy was about to open her mouth because Law didn't know what she felt back then, how dare he; but her the words died in her mouth when his hands cupped her cheeks so gently and yet so full of emotion, regret. It gutted her to see him so pained, the fire building up inside her dissipated._

"_Please – please don't think that I'm blaming you because I'm not. It was my fault. Everything was my fault. All the shit in my head fogged the fact that you're so selfless, you think of other first even though those choices you were about to make could hurt yourself. And I was selfish, I only thought of myself. It took me a year to realize that. I – I tried to find you but when I did, it was too late. You looked happy. Happy without me. I vowed that I'd let you be, that I'd stay as far away as I could so I won't hurt you again. But when I saw you at the hospital all that resolve, all those promises I made to myself vanished. After five years, it only made me need you more. " His hand caressed her cheek, running his thumb along her scar, a familiar gesture between them just like he did in the first day they met again._

"_I know it's hard to believe what I'm saying right now and that's okay. I understand, I broke your trust."_

_Luffy closed her eyes and digested everything he said. He was right about that but seeing him right now, she could see that he was telling the truth. That he was sorry. And he seemed already resigned to a fact printed in his mind that he doesn't expect her to give him a second chance…_

_She looked at him, his grey eyes waiting for her words. "I wouldn't have gone anywhere, unless you wanted me to." His breathe paused along with Luffy's words. "And you did."_

_He tucked a strand of her raven hair behind her ear. Hands retracting as if he wronged Luffy for touching her. "If you won't forgive me, I'd understand. I won't blame you and believe me, I haven't forgiven myself either."_

_When she met him again after what happened, she had thought of it as a weakness that she was drawn to him the moment she saw him. But it made her realize that he never left the throne in her heart. She knew she was impulsive and right now she wanted to take her time. To actually think for her own well-being._

"_It took me a while to come to terms with what happened between us. But I forgave you a long time ago, Law. Even before everything between us, all I wanted was to see you happy and at that moment you were. Maybe my selflessness made me blind too. Maybe we both made mistakes." He looked at her, searching, wide eyed as if he wasn't sure if he was hearing the right words that came out of her mouth._

"_Yes, I was hurt but it made me grow to who I am right now. It happened but it's all in the past, that's all it was. Now I'd like to think we're older and wiser."_

_He held his breath__, __waiting for her answer. She couldn't help but smile. Luffy had always liked this side of him where he showed her his emotions. It was something sacred and intimate for a man who built walls around him._

"_Okay." She said._

"_Okay?" He repeated._

_With a grin she started walking back to the shore. "And here I thought you were smart."_

"_Wait! Luffy." She heard rushed footsteps behind her making the boardwalk lightly tremble. "Are you – Is that –"he shook his head and took a deep breathe. "You're giving me another chance?"_

_She stopped walking. "To be a part of my life? Yes. We are friends Law... But I'd like to –"she faltered but held herself strong, "to have more time to think more about __**us**__…"_

_She didn't expect the smile that formed in his face, it showed relief then he said, "Thank you."_

She opened her eyes and stared at the reflection in the mirror. She saw a fighter.

A woman not afraid to take the leap.

Maybe she could be wrong. Maybe she could be the biggest fool in the entire universe at that moment but what she felt back at the shore was real and now it was even clearer; she was in the right place, she felt at peace.

It's stupid that everything she felt was brought back by coincidence.

But she had made up her mind… She made up her mind.

xx

Ahhhh there it is. Pls don't me with how the story's going D: This story is about reconciliation, friendship and love. It's cliché, (I know D: ) But this is what I wanted since the very beginning and I hope my writing made it clear. ( I'd appreciate if I'd get reviews to help me improve.)

But this is not the end of the story. They have a long way to go. (Hello Ace, Sabo :D and Don Quixote family :D )

And oh the song from this chapter is Hate To See Your Heart Break sang by Paramore featuring Joy Williams. It's five years old D: but I love this song so much and i finally wrote a fic that i can put it into :D

And again, thank you for taking the time to read my work. I appreciate it a lot! See you next update :D Have a good day!


	11. Chapter 11

Luffy yawned as she slowly crawled out of her sleeping bag. With her sleep-induced mind, she tied her hair into a ponytail and squinted into the sun. In the corner of her eye, she could vaguely see a blond preparing their breakfast. She was still so sleepy she couldn't keep her eyes open and stumbled into a log and face-planted into something soft yet firm at the same time.

"I'm okay." She said while raising her hand, voice muffled as fabric went into her mouth. Gagging and sticking her tongue out, she pushed herself up and sat back on the log she stumbled on.

"Lu, move."

Huh. That sounded like Ace. She rubbed her eyes and looked around only to see Sabo crouched near the fire and looking at her thoroughly amused.

"Where's Ace?" She asked.

Years of visiting the area and she never experienced sitting on a log that _squirms_. She yelped when the log started to stand up. Wait… what? She immediately stood up and leapt away from where she was sitting only to look down and see Ace clutching his stomach, breathing heavily with the sleeping bag barely covering his body.

Groaning, he said. "I swear you weigh more than you look, Lu."

"That's what you get for being lazy and letting me do everything." Sabo said as he poured water into the small pot over the fire.

Sitting down, her freckled brother gestured towards Sabo. "My back hurts, you can't enslave the injured. Be a good little brother once in a while, big bro needs some rest."

"You're never letting that up are you? You're older by two months and 19 days, Ace." The blond answered, rolling his eyes. "And it's not our fault someone had to show off his trekking skills." He added mockingly.

"Ohhh. Touchy, touchy. Aren't you a tad specific, lil bro? Watch out, you might add a little too much salt in our food."

"I'm preparing tea." Sabo deadpanned.

Her stomach growled while listening to her brothers' banter. Startled, they both look at her. Ace shoot up from his sleeping bag and pulled out the rations Sabo prepared before they left Wind Mill, immediately hovering over her while Sabo walked towards her and gave her a thermos flask.

Titling her head to the side, she hummed and tapped her fist to her palm absentmindedly saying, "Sabo's definitely more responsible and mature —"

"Hear that, _big bro_? Guess I'm the better brother after all." Sabo looked at Ace with a smug grin.

Ace shook his head and clicked his tongue. "She meant you're boring and old."

"—while Ace is someone who protects me and Sabo more than himself and is overprotective." She wrinkled her nose and muttered, "Not like Sabo's any different." She then looked at them smiling. "But I don't see the point of comparing the two of you. You're both your own person and I know I wouldn't be who I am today without the two best brothers in the whole world."

Her brothers looked at her in awe and visibly cooed as they hugged her tight. They both sniffed and she had to giggle and give them a tight squeeze. "Thank you for taking care of me, I love you both."

"We love you too, Lu. We love you too."

"I'm starving." She pouted then smiled all too sweetly. "First one to give me food gets the "Best Brother of the Week" title!"

"God, Nami's really rubbing off on you. What's she teaching you?" She heard Ace groan.

Sabo already jumped out of the hug and bolted back to the stuff he prepared. She laughed as Ace screamed 'cheater' and pulled Sabo's pants. He cursed while prying the food from Sabo's hand. She wiped tears from her eyes, still laughing, trying hard to contain her glee. After calming down from her laughing fit, she sighed fondly. Gosh, she missed them so much.

X

On the third day of their trip, thirty-fives miles away from civilization and nearly seven thousand nine hundred seventy feet above sea level, they reached the peak of Mount Colbo. One look at the view and Luffy was glad to suffer all the petty competitiveness between her brothers. Well, it was sort of her fault for bringing up a title in the first place but still, it went on and on. It was endearing and funny in the beginning but it _never_ stopped. She had to listen to the two of them proving who the best brother was. Apparently no one wanted to share the first spot.

Overhead, the sky was crystal blue with streaks of soft clouds floating by with the cool breeze. The lush green of the forest filled the horizon. It was refreshing, majestic, wild and absolutely beautiful. She pulled her hair tie, letting her hair down. She closed her eyes and raised her arms. The wind in her hair, the whispers of the creatures around made her feel so at peace. No matter how many times she visited the place, it still fills her with exhilaration.

She noticed her brothers stood beside her. They remained still, enjoying the peaceful silence that dawned upon them every time they reached the peak.

The peaceful quiet was interrupted by a very much welcomed bark coming from behind them. She spun on her heels and grinned at white shiba dog waddling towards them with its tongue lolling out of its mouth.

"Pochi!" She ran to it but the dog seemed to have other plans than hug out their reunion and went to her hiking bag lying carelessly on the ground. She huffed, same old Pochi. She still vividly remembers the first time she met the canine and scrunched her nose at the memory of it stealing her food.

A shadow casted over her and she looked up at the woman with long curly hair who had been their care taker when they were kids. She beamed. "Dadan!"

She got a poke on her forehead and pouted at the older woman. "How damn hard is it to greet me first rather than the dog?" The woman asked, sounding utterly done with her antics.

She grinned. "Missed you too, Dadan." The older woman patted her shook her head and placed her hands above Luffy's head, ruffling her hair. She didn't miss the small quirk on the woman's lip before it fell down. Though Luffy knew she was just hiding that happiness inside her. Dadan had always been like that.

"Brats."

Soon, Ace and Sabo ambled towards them with Pochi on their heels eating a piece of meat jerky. "Dadan! I'm glad you're still alive!" Ace opened his arms and gave woman a hug.

Sabo being the gentleman that he was, bowed before giving her a warm hug. "Dadan, it's been a while."

"I always knew Sabo's gonna be the decent one." The woman said. Luffy grinned looking at them. Dadan looked happy.

Ace laughed. "But I'm still the best brother." He looked at Sabo smugly and waited for him to answer but the blond only rolled his eyes.

They all followed the woman as she gestured for them towards a path leading to a cottage. There were people milling about, doing their daily chores, ones that she always skipped and instead played with Sabo and Ace in the forest.

"I heard two of you are getting married." Dadan said as she led them towards their old room. It looked exactly the same since she was seven. Three white futons were placed neatly side by side, the scribbles on the wall were faded but she vividly remembers the exact place where Sabo drew a dragon when he told them a bed time story or the scratches on the wooden planks on the floor when they dragged a broken chest they found in the middle of the forest.

Sabo was the one who answered. "Yeah." He chuckled softly. Luffy could see the telltale sign of a blush in his pale face. She's still amazed how deeply in love he was to Koala. "That's actually one of the reasons why we're here, you know, aside from Ace giving you hell." Sabo got a smack on his arm from Ace and laughed it off. "Koala and I and also Ace and Marco would love to have you in our wedding."

"You and Makino were the mother figures in our lives and we want both of you to be there." Ace added. Dadan looked between Ace and Sabo. She noticed the tears gathering in her eyes.

Dadan sniffed and cleared her throat, looking up. While she was trying to compose herself, Luffy grabbed a used shirt from her hiking bag and gave it to the older woman who looked teary eyed again and blew her nose. "That's… that's really sweet and thoughtful of you brats."

Ace and Sabo smiled and said nothing as they hugged Dadan. Sabo motioned for her to join the group hug and she did. After a while, the woman faced her and seriously said, "You better not pull this act too when it's your turn to get married."

She looked at her wide eyed, she felt her cheeks heat up. She wasn't expecting for the woman's attention to go to her right after her brother declared that she'd walk them down the aisle as their mom. She started to splutter a response but only managed to squeak – loudly at that – when her brain conjured an image of _him_.

Dadan laughed. She grinned and patted her head. "Aye, I knew there was something behind those sparkling eyes." The older woman looked at her brothers who were looking at her alarmed and gaping.

"Wait… Lu… Why are you blushing?" It was Ace who spoke first. Of course, it was him. She tried to remember how Nami does the thing where everyone's attention was directed to someone else. She was expecting Sabo to speak but he just stared at her with his calculating eyes, like he was reading into her mind. Luffy definitely, definitely didn't want to be at the other end of that look.

"It's… Its just that it's not in my mind yet! Ha. Ha." She mentally smacked herself, it was not like it was a lie. She truthfully wasn't thinking of wedding bells and all that wedding fuss but she remembered Bon-chan's words and it didn't help that Dadan's pushed through it even more.

Ace squinted his eyes. He must have seen something that made him rational for he visibly relaxed. "Luffy's right, Dadan. Please don't give her ideas. She's not even dating anyone so that's far from reality."

Perking up, she instantly added. "Yeah!"

"Unless you have someone in mind Lu?" Sabo interjected.

She vehemently forced herself not to think about what Bon-chan said and exorcised the thoughts of grey eyes, cool tattoos, soft smiles, lunch dates. Oh god, were those dates? She doesn't know anymore! But she was damn sure didn't need to think about it right now! Be gone thoughts, you aren't welcomed here.

"Nope!" She answered almost too cheerily. Moments like this she cursed herself for being a bad liar. Her brain was already chanting 'they would know, they would know'.

Dadan stood in front of her, hands on her hips. "Stop grinding your sister. She's old enough to decide for herself and sooner or later you brats need to let her go. You both have your own lives ahead of you and she has hers."

Thankful for the distraction, Luffy gathered herself and let out a sigh of relief. She tiptoed and poked her head behind Dadan's shoulder. "It's fine Dadan. I'm sure Ace and Sabo are just worried for my sake and most possible tired from all that competitive hiking. Right guys?" She gave her best and most blinding smiles at her brothers. If only Nami could've seen her now, she would be so damn proud.

With the look on her brother's face, it seemed like crisis was temporarily averted.

Grinning, Ace placed his arm over Sabo's shoulder. "It's not my fault someone couldn't accept the fact that I'm the best brother."

Sabo patted Ace's back, voice in sing-song tone and a smile sugary sweet he said, "Good job for being the best brother, Ace."

The eldest furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the blond with disapproving eyes. "Don't pat me in the back. It makes me feel like I'm stupid or something."

With a wide grin, as if expecting Ace to reply those exact words, Sabo winked and pointed finger guns at Ace. "Well, the truth hurts."

Ace gawked as Sabo grabbed their bags and walked with Dadan who was laughing maniacally.

"Sabo one. Ace zero." She muttered quietly but apparently not quite enough because Ace looked at her like she stole his food.

He clutched his chest – overdramatically at that and said, "I thought you love me."

"Shishishi I do!" Grinning, Luffy gave him a hug and the dramatics vanished as he deflated in her warmth. "But I got to admit, Sabo owned you. Shishishi" She added and easily slipped from their hug, ready to bolt away from her huffing brother.

X

Luffy idly watched the bonfire as she huddled beside Ace. The party had been fun especially with all the meat that Dadan's people prepared. They'd danced, sang songs and shared stories. It only became even louder and wilder when the liquor stash was taken out. Now, half of Dadan's people were lying on the damp ground, snoring and muttering in their sleep.

She wished they could still do this when her brothers finally married the love of their lives.

Ace leaned against her mumbling something about Marco. She shuffled, finding a comfortable position and continued watching the fire licking the piled logs. She raised her head when she heard hurried footsteps stomping out of the cottage.

She didn't like what she saw in Sabo's face.

"Gramp's assistant called." He gulped and Luffy was starting to dread what he was about to say. "He said… they brought Gramps to the hospital. They didn't say what happened to him or how bad it was but they're sending a chopper here in thirty minutes."

X

It was past the second hour in the morning when Luffy and her brothers arrived in Smile Medical Center. She nodded at the security that greeted her as she strode straight to the front desk while her brothers followed. The lobby was deserted aside from the graveyard shift receptionist, Conis, who was on the computer.

Luffy smiled as the blonde looked up and greeted her. Conis looked at her wrist watch, "You're pretty early today, Luffy."

She grinned sheepishly, the woman might have been a witness of one of her tardy days and seen her bolt towards their locker. "Actually, I'm here to check on my gramps. He was brought not too long ago in the emergency room. Was he moved to a private room or is he still in the E.R?"

"Monkey D. Garp, that's his name." Sabo added.

Conis nodded, immediately checking her computer. "He's in the fourth floor, private ward room number 32Y."

"Thanks Conis."

They were given passes and took the elevator. She bolted right inside the room as it opened only to see her grandpa eating crackers and sipping tea with Dr. Kureha. He looked at them and grinned. He then turned to the doctor sitting beside his bed who looked rather pissed and amused at the same time.

"I told you they would come. These brats love me. Now you owe me a thousand beri. Hahaha."

The doctor shook her head, giving her grandpa a disapproving look. "Quiet, Garp. You'll wake the entire hospital with your racket."

Ace groaned beside her. "Please tell me you didn't bother an entire hospital and told them you were sick just to create an emergency situation cause we didn't tell you that we'd be heading to Mount Colbo."

"Hahaha! Me? Getting sick? Who do you think I am?"

"An obnoxious geezer." The three of them replied.

"Don't talk to your grandpa like that." He was about to stand and Luffy, Ace and Sabo were already backing up towards the door when Doctor Kureha smacked his head with her clipboard.

"Goddamn woman! Do you wanna cure me or see me die?"

"I don't like seeing my patients undo the work I've done. One more abrupt movement and I'll tie you up."

Beside her, Sabo sighed. "What's wrong with gramps, Doctor Kureha?"

The doctor smacked their grandpa again her clipboard. "This old loon's blood sugar increased. There must be something wrong with his brain and hearing too because even though I told him to watch out what he's eating, he just never learns. Do something with that won't you? I'm keeping him here to monitor his condition but he's all good, he should be out tomorrow. I'm sure Luffy knows the way around here so I won't explain how to check out of the hospital."

She beamed when the three men of the Monkey Family looked at her with surprise and pride. "Thanks Doctor Kureha! Tell Chopper I say hi!"

The doctor nodded and left the room.

"I have to call Marco, I left a voice message and he might overthink and be dramatic and come here." Ace said as Sabo snickered beside him.

"What?" He asked.

"Are you sure you're referring to Marco? Because that sounds like you're describing yourself."

"Is this still about the best brother thing whatever? Because I'm not gonna give the title to you with how salty you are."

The blond smirked, "Oh I don't need it because I know I'm the best."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Whatever Sabo, whatever." He then looked at their grandpa and took a bite of the biscuit. "Don't die on me old man, I'm just gonna call my fiancé and I'm gonna come back."

"Gimme those biscuits back you brat!" Their grandpa hollered which only made Ace grin and ate all the biscuits in one go, slinking slowly towards the door, waving the empty wrapper.

Sabo the ever responsible brother that he is ushered Ace out of the room just to stop the pissing match between the two. She grinned when he mouthed something about calling Koala, she was right when she said they're technically the same.

Sheets shifted as she sat on her Gramp's bed. In all honesty, the call made her anxious. She wasn't the one to worry about things all the time but hearing the news from Sabo made her on edge. She doesn't want anyone leaving her ever again. Her grandpa might be the kind of person who takes their grandchildren out into the forest and leaves them there for three days to have hands on experience on survival but she was a hundred percent sure that he loves the three of them more than he loves himself.

He may not be always there for them growing up but she knew that he did his best. The birthday presents, the souvenirs he'd sent when he was out on another country, the 2 a.m random phone calls and the surprise visits accompanied by his fist of love — to let them feel that the three of them were important, appreciated and loved. He was not the typical grandpa yet she would never trade him for another one.

"Gramps, you're crazy, loud and annoying but it would be sad if you're not bothering us anymore so don't go dying and leaving us. Okay? We'll miss your fist of love and we're all going to be lazy and slow because we're not expecting you to pop out of nowhere and try to punch us to unconsciousness. You can't die. You're not allowed to." She says in one breath that she's surprised she didn't stumble while talking.

Her gramps was oddly quiet while looking at her. She could see that the years of serving his country truly had taken a toll of his life. His hair was more white than black and the lines on his face were clearly obvious compared to the last time she saw him. The older man huffed. "Pfft, I survived jumping out of a moving helicopter, punched a bear on the nose, and stopped a cannonball with bare hands, as if a stupid rise in blood sugar would kill me. That crazy woman would dig my grave out and resurrect me just to give me shit."

"Shishishi, yeah. I wouldn't doubt Doctor Kureha doing exactly that. Probably she'll give you a tip about looking young too."

The old man laughed. She liked it like this. She knew he was busy with his work and doesn't get enough rest. She didn't really get it at first, why he'd offer most of his lifetime to the department but growing up and spending time with her clients and patients, she understood that like her, her Gramps just wanna serve and protect people especially Ace, Sabo and her. They just had different means.

He sobered up from his laughter. Large, calloused hands were placed on top of Luffy's hair and patted her. She looked up, surprised to feel the gentleness that was barely seen from her Gramps. Something she only experienced when she was little as she was carried by strong arms away from something she couldn't clearly remember. She scrunched her head trying to figure out what that was but nothing comes to mind.

"I know I wasn't around much." He solemnly said as he looked at her like she was _precious_. "Ace and Sabo raised you on their own. Hell, even I let Dadan and Makino took care of them."

There was some sort of longing, far look on his eyes. Regret. Guilt. "I had to do what I needed to do. It wasn't pleasant, wasn't kind. But I'll do it again over and over to give you brats the lives you have right now. But that was a long time ago, it's all behind us now."

He blinked at the somber tone of his voice died. He looked at her once more, this time like he knew something she didn't and roughly patted her back that almost made her fell off the bed.

"I'm not gonna die without seeing my… eh… what do you call those little things?" He gestured with his hand.

She narrowed her eyes trying to decipher what her Gramps meant. With how he was gesturing around, there could only be one thing. "Dwarves?"

"Hahaha! Idiot! Not those!"

Luffy pouted. "Well your hands looked like you're sizing up dwarves. It's not my fault you're bad at explaining!"

He ignored her retort and described whatever it was more. "Those cheeky things that runs around and plays pranks on you."

She was getting frustrated. "I already said dwarves!" What else could it be?! "Gnome?"

"Sure as hell didn't recall seeing dwarves nor gnomes come out of a woman's body."

"How would you know?!" She huffed. Wait that wasn't the point. She poked her head trying to understand what her Gramp's was trying to say when it clicked. She looked at him flabbergasted. "Did you mean _babies_?"

"Ah! Yes! Babies! Great- grandkids? Is that it?"

She groaned, "And you called me idiot for not knowing what it was with your vague, "she gestured her hands around mocking Garp's actions, "You're an idiot Gramps, not me!"

"Look at you! You're just like Ace! Respect your grandpa!"

She moved a safe distance away from her Gramp's reach and stuck of her tongue.

"But it's probably that, right?" He asked.

She shrugged.

"Eh, it's probably that. I ain't leaving this world without seeing those. I'd like to teach them the ways of being a great police officer."

She wrinkled her nose. "Ace and Sabo will kill you first before they'll allow you to teach their kids."

"Ha! They can try! And also, I'd like to see your kids too. I'd probably threaten your husband but ha! That would be the greatest day of my life, seeing the three of you happy with your own families. I can drop dead after that."

She stomped towards the bed and smacked him for talking nonsense. "No one's dying, stupid gramps."

The man chuckled. "Sooner or later it's gonna happen." He waved it off so casually. "I just have to make sure that you brats are happy and not alone. And I can leave the world peacefully."

Shaking her head, Luffy should be used to how weird her Gramp's can be. "We won't ever be alone, Gramps. Ace has Marco and his brothers. Sabo has Koala and the kids in the orphanage, they have me and I have them. And I also have my friends."

"And Sengoku's adoptive grandchild, is that it?"

She tilted her head. "The who?"

Garp's forehead furrowed. "I don't know if he looks the same as that gloomy little shit from before but you know, eye bags, grumpy face, surgeon, tattoo, tall and Rosinante's adoptive kid who happened to be Sengoku's adoptive kid so that makes him his adoptive-adoptive grandkid? Bah! Whatever. Rosinante mentioned you while he was calling the old coot. Seems to me that the family wants you to be their daughter-in-law."

"Wait… Law has a grandpa? How come he never mentioned him? What?"

"Oh so you do know him. Did he propose yet? Am I allowed to threaten him now that he's trying to take your chastity?"

She put her hands on the air. "God gramps. Hold up. I haven't even told him my answer yet."

"But you're going to say yes." It wasn't a question.

She looked at him to measure if telling him about Law was a thing that earned her a fist of love. He seemed relaxed enough so she scooted closer to him. "Uh… yes?"

He studied her for a moment and raised an eyebrow. "You're not sure?"

She lets out a deep breathe, "I am?"

"Then why are you answering that way. Say it like you mean it!"

She looked at him suspiciously. "You're not mad? You knew what happened before, you're not gonna stop me?"

The man sighed. "Luffy, who am I to stop you from your happiness? I already told you I only want my grandkids to be happy. You seem happy. This time you're both adults, you seem to have a good effect on each other regarding how Rosinante chirps about you nonstop. But of course, if I see the kid I'd smack him once…" he paused "or you know what, twice. He gave me a reason to give shit to his grandpa, so I think that's even."

Releasing a breath that she didn't think she was holding, she hugged Garp's arm and squeezed it. "Thank you Gramps."

"I assume you haven't told your brothers?"

She nodded and leaned against her grandpa's arm. They both didn't notice the figure hovering at the door.


	12. Chapter 12

Luffy leaned against the door, absentmindedly twirling Ace's car key on her finger. There were footsteps behind her. Glancing, she grinned sheepishly when Marco gave her an exasperated look, one she knew very well and had seen every time Ace was trying to haggle Marco and the guy wasn't getting swayed. He must be desensitized to all the things he'd seen and experienced dealing with her family.

"I don't know how many times I've repeated this for the entirety of knowing you Luffy but your hands are never going near my car's steering wheel. Gods know you're worse than Ace."

With a dramatic gasp, she looked at his future brother-in-law who merely raised his eyebrow. She tried justifying her interest, "I would never crash your –"

"Yeah. I didn't say you'd crash my car but now that you mentioned it, "he shrugged, "made your chances go back to zero. Not like there ever was a chance in the first place. I'd like to keep my car intact. The insurance wasn't enough to fix what Ace did to my car."

She pouted, giving the man a stinky eye. "Booo, you're no fun, Marco."

"If "fun" means the towing services won't pull my car out of a ditch or god forbid, a damn cliff… Then yes, I'm no fun, Lu."

He opened his palm and eyed the key twirling on her finger then stared at her. She clutched it tight and groaned when Marco didn't budge no matter how long she was trying to stall until they were cleared by Doctor Kureha. Begrudgingly, she eventually gave up not without sticking her tongue out to make sure Marco knew that she wasn't pleased.

Pouting, she set her attention to her family. Sabo was the one talking to Dr. Kureha 'cause Luffy knew he was the only responsible enough to follow through her instructions. Ace and Gramps nagged at each other like they always do. Shaking her head, she can't help but smile even with the current situation. It had been a while since she'd seen the men in her life in one place.

"I better not see you around soon, Garp." Dr. Kureha said.

Ever the responsible one, Sabo countered Dr. Kureha's statement respectfully, a little too respectful. "I'll make sure of that doctor." (And if Luffy noticed that Sabo was doing his best not to snap at Ace and Grampa, well that was all hers – they were the ones making the process take forever. She'd like to rest in an actual bed this time without her Gramp's loud snoring. Thank you.)

The doctor sighed. "It's a good thing at least one of you kids is an adult."

"Hey! I'm an adult!" She demanded.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Talk to me in fifty years kid." She ambled beside her and faced Sabo. "That's all that's needed and make sure to let him visit my office two weeks from now. Now, go before this old man bother other patients."

"I never wanted to be here in the first place, hag!" Her grandpa yelled from his bed.

Ace snickered beside him. Gramps was about to say something when Sabo cleared his throat. Both Ace and Gramps closed their mouths. She should've made Sabo angry from the get go and they wouldn't take four hours for releasing her Gramps from the hospital. No one wanted to deal with a ticked off Sabo, apparently.

"Let's go. Ace, hold gramps." Sabo said.

"I'm not an invalid! I can walk on my own." Garp barked.

Sabo rubbed his forehead and repeated firmly, "Let's go. Ace, assist gramps. We have a long drive back to Windmill since we can't stay in Luffy's apartment. We'll be staying in Ace's and Marco's house instead. Is that clear?"

Ace grumbled as he passed by Sabo.

"Come on, Ace. I'll help you." Marco grabbed the things in the room and led the way out.

They were in the elevator when Luffy's turned on her phone. A couple of messages went in, from Nami, Sanji and Usopp, all asking about her trip and when she was coming back and to bring souvenirs. She was typing a reply when her phone started ringing.

"Is that your boyfriend, Luffy?" Garp casually asked.

Luffy choked on her own saliva. _'Damn it, gramps!_'

Luffy groaned. Great, now her brothers and Marco attention were all directed to her. Marco seemed amused meanwhile her brothers were looking like they ate something bad. "I don't have a boyfriend, Gramps. Stop spouting nonsense."

Garp hummed. "Well, from what I heard, you'll be having one soon. Be sure to let him meet me."

Internally cursing– this was what she got for telling the old man– , Luffy sighed and calmed herself. This was not the time to think about the doctor.

"Ace, Sabo. Stop looking at me like that. I don't have a boyfriend. You both gotta believe me." They both eyed her, clearly trying to see if she was lying.

Garp suddenly laughed, erasing the tension in the elevator. "You should've seen your faces." He wiped the tear in the corner of his eye. "I already feel sorry for whoever that kid will be. Even my good luck won't help him. But seriously, you two. Let your sister be happy too."

Ace and Sabo blinked and stared at her then at each other then nodded.

Luffy, for the life of her, didn't understand what that was about.

Her phone rang again and she internally released a cheer when it was Kaya and not an unexpected call from Doctor Heart Stealer himself. She couldn't possibly cover up talking to him on phone while her brothers were in the same place, in a tiny box. They would probably hear him talking. That thought sent chills to Luffy.

"Aren't you answering that?" Marco asked amused.

"I am and I will."

"Put it on loud speaker." Ace added.

Luffy stared at him deadpanned. "Really, Ace?"

Ace huffed. "What? We wanna know who's calling unless we're not meant to hear it?"

Before Luffy had the chance to roll her eyes with how ridiculous Ace was, she could see Sabo "discreetly" patting him on the back.

With a heavy sigh, Luffy clicked received and answered, putting it on loud speak. "Hey Kaya, what's up?"

"_**Oh, thank god you answered, Luffy." The voice echoed in the small room, Kaya sounded out of breathe. "I know you filed a leave from work but I already tried calling everyone but they didn't know anything."**_

Luffy's brows furrowed. "What's wrong, Kaya?"

"_**A patient's missing. He's the kid you looked after. The new kid in therapy. What was his name again? Ugh."**_

"Hey, hey. Kaya, it's okay. It's okay. Do you mean Momo? Grumpy kid that tried to kick the nurse that sent him to our department?" Luffy asked. Her brothers looked worried. Even Gramps and Marco seemed concerned.

"_**Yes! Him. Momo! Kozuki Momo."**_

Luffy tapped her foot on the floor and pressed the button for the ground floor. "What happened? I thought someone would look after him while I'm away?"

"_**Yes, someone did but he sneaked out when his new therapist went to the toilet."**_

"Did they check the security cameras?" It was Gramps who asked.

"Kaya, listen to me. Did anyone on duty called the security? They should be able to track him."

"_**Yes, I did. Everyone else is looking for him. I called and informed his guardian too in case the kid went home on his own but he wasn't there. They're coming here to help find Momo." **_

Gramps spoke. "How long has it been since he sneaked out?"

Luffy nodded at him and repeated what he said to Kaya.

"_**An hour, Luffy. The security's backtracking the recorded surveillance, they will call me once they see something." **_A man's voice interrupted their call and Kaya started talking to them. Luffy could vaguely hear their conversation. It seemed it was Momo's guardian.

Kaya spoke on the phone again_**. "Luffy, I'll call you back when I can. I have to bring Momo's guardians to the security room."**_

"All right, Kaya. I'll help." She looked around and her family nodded.

"_**Wait. I thought you're in the mountains?"**_

"Nah, I'm in the hospital right now."

"_**Oh my god, are you okay?"**_

"Yes. I mean, my grandpa was brought here yesterday and we have to come back."

"_**Oh. Is he okay? Shouldn't you be watching him?"**_

"He's okay now. We're actually on our way out of the hospital. I wanna help find Momo. I think I know where he is."

"_**Okay, Luffy. Thank you. I'm sorry I had to call you while you're supposed to look after your grandpa."**_

"Naw, it's all good. My Gramp's already healthy. And they all want me to help find Momo."

She sighed in relief. _**"Thank you, Luffy."**_

"No worries Kaya, I'll see you soon. I'll find Momo by then."

The phone call ended and she looked at her family. "You guys heard that, I have to stay for a bit."

They all started to talk altogether as they went out of the elevator. Luffy raised both of her hands and asked them to stop. "I know you guys wanna help but I got this okay? He's my patient and I know the kid.

Facing her gramps, she said. "Gramps, you need to rest."

"Ace, Marco drove here as soon as he could he needs to rest. Take care of him."

"Sabo, Koala's getting worried about you too. I can manage this. I'm sure he's inside the hospital. He won't go out on his own. I know because his right foot's on a cast. Okay?" She said reassuring her family that she indeed got the situation handled.

They stared at her and nodded.

"Okay good. I got to go now." She started walking to the hallway when Sabo called out.

"Who's gonna drive you home Lu?"

"I'll grab a bus or I'll ask the guys at the apartment to send me to Wind Mill." She shouted earning a shhh from a passing nurse. She sheepishly apologized while walking backward still addressing her family.

"Ask your boyfriend, Luffy. At least make use of him." Garp added.

"Shut up, Gramps!" Ace and Sabo demanded.

"Shishishi. I'll see you guys, later!"

~x~

Luffy took a deep breath. This wasn't the first time Momo sneaked out of his therapy session but Luffy finds him within five minutes. He was at the cafeteria when he first disappeared on her watch. When asked why he sneaked out, the kid just said he was hungry though the food on his plate wasn't touched.

The second time, Luffy was heading out from work after their session when he saw the kid sneakily walked – well limped, towards the other exit of the hospital. She watched him until she heard voices calling the kid out. She gladly pointed to his guardians where the kid was slowly but surely going toward the exit.

There were other instances along the way. He was a stubborn kid. He kept trying no matter how many times Luffy found him. After she had a talk with the kid, eventually, it stopped. There should be a reason why it happened again.

Did she forgot to tell him that he'd be meeting his brothers for a week? She thought. No, no. That wasn't it. She was sure she told the kid. He was salty at first considering what happened to him but it turned out well. There was a promise of souvenir and snacks but all in all, it was good.

Luffy ran towards the garden. There was a barricade and a sign that it the path was under maintenance so she had to run back to the other side. By the time she got there, she was already sweating, her hair's even messier and she was slightly out of breath.

Looking around the garden she heard someone humming a lullaby she oddly recognizes but couldn't point where she heard it before. She followed the sound and saw a woman gently combing Momo's hair with her fingers while the kid's head was on her lap as he peacefully slept.

She met hazel brown eyes, almost the same as hers when she stopped in front of them. The woman sitting on a bench under Luffy's favorite tree was beautiful. Her dark hair was cut short in a pixie style. A classic make up decorated her face and Luffy could tell that even without it, she was still stunning. She looked to be older than Luffy but the composure when she smiled at her made the woman's age questionable. She had a classy air around her but her giddiness in seeing Luffy made her approachable.

Luffy stood there staring and she should probably stop it because it was rude but there was something about the woman that Luffy cannot seem to snap her attention off of her.

"You're awfully young to have an eight year old kid, are you not?" She cocked her head while asking and Luffy dumbly followed her action. She gaped for a while until she realized that the woman was looking at her expectantly, patiently waiting for an answer.

She gaped. "Wha- I- I –." The woman laughed. Oddly enough even though it was on her expense, she felt warm and light knowing that she was the reason for her laughter.

"I'm just teasing you, dear. Unless he's really yours?"

"He's not my child! I'm his therapist!" She quickly replied, somehow flustered.

"Ahhh, the one who went on a vacation?" She asked and Luffy nodded. Just how much did Momo talk about her?

"He said he didn't like the replacement and ran – walked..?" She eyed the cast on his leg and made up her mind. "And walked, slowly that is… towards," She looked around emphasizing the place, "here."

Okay, Luffy would take that reasoning. That was so Momo.

"You must be wondering why I know you. Momo here is rather fond of you. He talked about you a lot. He said he missed you and he wouldn't want anyone else for his therapy." She smiled and patted the space beside her. "Here, sit with me for while?"

Luffy nodded and grabbed her phone out of her pocket. Somehow she was compelled to be very polite with her. " I'm sorry, I need to send a text to my colleague. They were all over the place looking for him."

"He told me that. But he was adamant not to go tell the security nor see your colleagues. I'm sorry about that."

"No, no. It's okay. I'm glad he was with you and not loitering outside the hospital."

There was a pregnant silence between them where the woman was looking at her as if memorizing every trait of her faces. She then blinked when they their eyes met.

"You're beautiful, Luffy." She said almost longingly.

Luffy blushed. "I guess Momo told you my name too huh. Uh. Thanks? You're very pretty too, Miss?"

"I'm Riyo. You can call me Riyo."

"You're very pretty, Miss Riyo."

"Please, just Riyo."

"Okay. Riyo." Luffy smiled and Riyo smiled with her.

She stared at the sleeping Momo and asked, "He didn't kick you or something right? He tends to do that to strangers."

She chuckled and that sound made Luffy's heart flutter. "Not at all. He was such a sweet kid, you see he called me when he saw that I left my hat." She patted a straw hat that looked like her own except for the ribbon circling the hat. "So I asked him to sit with me while I waited for my husband. We talked and he eventually feel asleep."

Luffy nodded. That was good to hear. She would have to apologize a million times if Momo did kick her.

"You really tamed him."

"Haha. He was already "tamed" when we met. He was fun to talk with… He told me about you, his friends in therapy and also his family. It must be hard for a child to experience all that." Riyo said.

Luffy hummed, feeling mournful with what happened to Momo's family. "It was an unfortunate accident."

She continued soothingly raking Momo's hair and said, "It was all over the news. It would've been respectful for Momo if the media didn't barge in and break the child's privacy. It seemed he didn't get to mourn properly."

Luffy clenched her fist. "Yeah. Makes me mad just thinking about it."

"You and me both."

"And to think his parent's business partners want Momo's parents' business for their own. Who does that? I mean, the kid lost his parents and sibling, they wanna take what they left behind for him too? It pisses me off. This is my opinion but they needed to be investigated. It's too much of a coincidence with what's happening with their business and their death."

"Oh, they are. It was on the news a couple days ago. The police found foul play. It's only a matter of time until they're brought to justice."

Relieved, Luffy stared at her. "Really? That's good to hear. I've been busy for a while preparing a trip with my brothers that I didn't check about that. I don't usually watch or read news but it involves my patient so I had to know what I'm dealing with. It's not only physically that I need to help Momo but I wanna be there for him emotionally too. I wanted to be his friend. We may have different circumstances but I could relate not having parents around."

"Oh. I'm sorry about that."

"Nah, I'm over it. I have my grandpa, my brothers too." She grinned.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

"I don't really know. I asked my grandpa around middle school? I'm not so sure anymore but he just answered me that I don't have any."

Riyo clicked her tongue.

"Yeah, I never asked again after that and I'm happy with my adoptive brothers." She scrunched her nose, not liking the sound of that and corrected herself. "I'm happy with my brothers. You know what I mean right?"

The woman nodded. A strand of her hair bouncing on her forehead. "I understand. I'm glad you found a family."

Luffy smiled. "Yeah. They're awesome."

"Seeing your face, it shows how much you love them. Makes me wonder if my child would think the same." She said solemnly then stared at Luffy and laughed. "You have a very amusing confused face, dear. Your boyfriend must be very fond of it."

Luffy groaned exasperated. "Why does everyone assume I have a boyfriend?!"

Riyo chuckled. "You're a beautiful girl and from what Momo shared and our conversation; kind, loving and humble too. One can't help but assume. With that reaction," She lightly tapped Luffy's cheek with her free hand, "I think my assumption is right, isn't it?"

"No?"

She giggled. "Oh my, you can't lie huh." She smiled looking fondly at Luffy.

Luffy groaned. There was something about that woman that made her feel comfortable, made her feel safe. She didn't really understand where that's coming from but she went along with it. She seemed like a nice woman. She wouldn't mind spending some time with her and befriending her.

They talked some more which ended up with Riyo teasing her until her husband arrived. He was an intimidating man with a tattoo on his face which was truthfully cool in Luffy's dictionary.

"I had a good time talking with you Luffy." She touched her shoulders gently squeezing them as she finished moving Momo in Luffy's embrace. "Please tell Momo that my husband arrived and I had to go. I guess I'd see you two around when I can."

"I will! It was nice talking to you too, Riyo." She stood up and placed Momo's head carefully on her shoulder. He must be so tired that he slept through out their conversation.

"I'd be happy to talk and sit over barbecue some time! With you and Mister Riyo?"

Riyo chuckled. "Riyo's my first name, dear. My husband's name is Dragon."

The man silently nodded. Luffy eyed him and nodded too. He was really intimidating, reminds her of Gramps when he's serious which was very rare she wasn't sure if it was her brain manipulating her and feeding her images of an intimidating Garp in his younger years or they really do have similarities.

"See you then, Riyo, Mister Dragon." She waved at them then turned around heading to the hallways. She hoped Momo's guardians' weren't nagging Kaya.

"Oh yeah." She paused on her track and turned around only to see leaves fluttering in the air. No Riyo and her husband around. She shrugged and continued walking. "I wonder what happened to their child."

~x~

Law was in the middle of hiding from his family when his phone pinged. He cursed under his breath, he was on the run from all the crazy shit happening inside the mansion and he forgot to turn his phone to silent mode. He would've turned it off but he was hoping he'd get a text from someone. Someone who's not Shachi or Penguin or Bepo who was in the same town as him but unfortunately too far to meet personally.

"Get a grip, Law. You're being too clingy." He muttered as he slowly and carefully opened a door without making it creak. His phone pinged again and he looked around before he took it out from his pocket making sure that he wasn't followed.

If this was either Penguin or Shachi he'd definitely castrate someone when he gets back from this stupid vacation.

He kept muttering but closed his mouth and also almost stopped his breathing when the name displayed on the screen is Luffy's.

"**I'm in the hospital." – 11:30 a.m.**

"What?"

Another messaged popped out while Law was typing his response.

"**I mean not me. But gramps. But yeah , I'm in the hospital. Doffy's. One where we work." – 11: 31 a.m.**

Law grunted and deleted the previous text he was about to send when another messaged went in. Wait, that's hours from Wind Mill. How did she reach Sabaody so fast?

"**Do you mind if I call?" – 11:32 a.m.**

Until this day, Law had never replied so fast to a text in his life including when he was still with Luffy in highschool.

He muttered yes and typed yes at the same time and waited for his the checkmark to turn green. When it did, he cleared his throat. "Hey." He said, then shook his head. "That's too impersonal."

He cleared his throat again and this time took his voice deeper. "Hey, Lu." He cringed. He sounded too much like a flirt. Not like he didn't want to flirt with her because every deity knew he wanted to but her grandpa was in the hospital and it is inappropriate when she could be sad or worried for he grandpa's condition.

His phone almost slipped out of his hand when Luffy's designated ring tone echoed inside the room he was hiding. "Shit. Shit. I'm not ready. Fuck." He looked helplessly at Luffy's name and cleared his throat.

"Just be you. Be calm. Be cool." The phone stopped ringing and he cursed. He hyped himself only for the call to fucking end. Great. Now Luffy would really think that he was an asshole. An asshole who says yes but didn't freaking answer.

"It's just a phone call. He could answer the shit out of it." He nodded to himself then banged his head on the door. Oh for fucks sake, it's her call. Who was he kidding? He was subconsciously waiting for a text the entire time he arrived in Wind Mill. Why else would he be holding his phone with him all the damn time?

God, he felt pathetic. "You're a grown ass man, Law. Act like one." He told himself.

He was deciding whether he should text and apologize or call right away when his phone rang again. This time he immediately answered.

"Luffy." He said reverent, almost out of breathe.

"_**Hey Law. Is it a bad time? You sound out of breathe."**_

"Do I?"

"_**Uh, yeah? Should I call another time?"**_

Law could hear an announcement from the hospital through Luffy's call. Did she stay there the entire time?

"No!" He cleared his throat. "I mean, no. It's okay. I was just strolling around the mansion. Ah, is your grandfather okay?"

He heard Luffy greet someone before she answered. _**"Yeah, he's okay. He actually only stayed in the hospital for a night and was released just an hour ago. His sugar increased, he just doesn't listen to Doctor Kureha about not eating too much."**_

Law heard footsteps outside the room and he lowered his voice. "That's good to hear. You'll be coming home with them then? To Wind Mill?"

"Actually I stayed behind."

"Oh. Why?" He pressed his ear against the door while the other was listening to Luffy's voice. He could feel that someone was outside standing in front of the room.

"_**Why are you whispering? Wait… Tra- Tora-"**_ Law's heart skipped a beat when he heard that familiar obnoxious nickname Luffy calls him when they were still together and only got disappointed at himself for hoping when she said his entire name. But then again not really because she rarely says his name unless she's mad or trying to scold him. _**"Trafalgar D. Water Law, are you hiding from your family?"**_

"Before you lecture me about family time, take note of this. I spent seventy two hours with the entire family in one roof Luffy. You know them. You know how they are. They're fucking crazy and by the time this vacation ends, I might end up crazy so I'd rather hide than ruin my sanity." He could hear Luffy trying to hold of that adorable laughter. Annoying because she's laughing at his suffering but still fucking cute.

Law's really whipped for this woman.

"Okay. Okay. Shishishi." Law sighed in relief grasping every sound of her laughter. He missed her. It hasn't been a week but he fucking missed her.

From behind the door someone called out. "Law, I know you're in there."

"_**Is that Roci?"**_

"Yes."

"Then open the door." His dad answered.

"_**Oh, tell him I say hi! Hope he's having fun."**_

"No!" Law hissed looking at the door, highly offended. Shit. "I mean, I will. I'm sorry Lu, that was meant for my dad. He's outside the room where I'm hiding and I don't want him to come in because he's a traitor who fed me to the wolves." He spoke louder to make sure his dad could hear.

Luffy just laughed on the other end of the call.

"You're being dramatic. We're just having fun."

"Really? Getting me soaked and then pushing me into the fucking pool is fun?" He hissed. Luffy kept laughing and he groaned. "Luffy, stop laughing. It's not funny."

"Wait, Luffy is there?" his dad asked.

"_**It is though. Shishishi. Did Doffy take a picture?"**_

"No."

"But you mentioned her name as if she's there…Are you okay, Law?"

"_**Awww, too bad."**_

"Luffy, wait a second." He was getting fucking confused talking to different people at the same damn time. Begrudgingly, he unlocked the door, opening it slowly and motioned for his dad to come in.

The blond was standing barefoot on still soaking from chlorinated water. He perked up and went inside the room giddily and oohhed when he saw the phone held near Law's ear.

"Be quiet." Law mouthed and Roci nodded.

"Hey Lu, sorry."

"Hi Luffy!" His dad whisper-yelled. Law's apparently a fucking joke now because no one seems to listen to him.

"_**Hey, Roci!"**_

"Right." Law deadpanned.

"Sorry, can't help it. Just had to greet Luffy." His dad answered while grinning.

"_**Don't be mean, Law."**_

"Yeah, Law. Don't be mean."

"How on earth could you even hear her? Wait, don't answer. Just… Would you two stop ganging up on me?"

"Okay." His dad answered though it wasn't believable.

"_**Shishishi, no promises."**_

"Where were we… Ah. That's right. You stayed behind?" he looked at his dad, appalled that the man went closer so he could clearly hear what Luffy was saying.

"_**Yeah. I'm waiting for the bus. Everyone's busy at the apartment. I wasn't really planning to go home three days after the trip so they couldn't leave their work and drive me to Wind mill."**_

Law bit his lip. "So… did you call because you're bored or you missed me?" His dad gasp and covered his mouth.

Luffy hummed. Law's getting sweaty waiting for the answer. _**"The latter. But now that you mentioned it, I'm bored too."**_

Law grinned and his dad smacked his arm as he silently, like a mime, cheered his son. "Ouch. Stop slapping me."

His dad mouthed something. "What? Say it slowly."

The blond rolled his eyes and whispered. "I said, offer her a ride."

"Luffy, hold on a bit. " Law covered the speaker and answered his dad. "You know I didn't get to bring my car and I doubt the key for that stupid bus is lying around casually when Doffy know I could take it and leave this place."

His dad grinned and wiggled his brows. "Who said that's the only transportation around?"

He eyed him suspiciously.

"I know that look. Don't be silly. I wanna help, Law. I want you to spend time with her."

"You do realize it's an hour away right? If you add the car congestion then two and a half."

"Are you saying you can't go and fetch her because it's an hour away? Really Law? Are your feelings for her that shallow?"

"No! I didn't say that. I'm just stating facts, dad. And you know how I feel about her."

"Then why are we dawdling here? Let's go and tell her you're going to get her."

Reluctantly following his dad, Law continued the call. "Hey, sorry again. Dad's being a weirdo."

"_**Shishishi, it's okay. It's nice knowing that the two of you are getting along well."**_

They went into the garage, expertly avoiding meeting anyone from the family as they went along. "By the way, how long until the bus leaves for Wind mill?"

She hummed. "_**About… an hour and a half from now. Why?"**_

"This sounds crazy but can you wait in the hospital? I'll be there in less than an hour."

"_**Eh? What do you mean? Aren't you in wind mill too?"**_

His dad motioned for him to wait as he ran and almost tripped towards the far end of the garage. He opened another door, one that Law didn't know existed. He motioned for him to follow and they ended up in a small underground room connected to the main garage with a concealable ramp.

Shaking himself from that surprise, he answered. "Yeah. But I can fetch you."

"_**Are you sure? Less than an hour doesn't sound safe, Law. It sounds fun, but not safe."**_

"I'll be there in one piece. Trust me. Just wait for me. I'll go to wherever you are. I'll come and fetch you."

"_**Oh. O-okay. I'll wait."**_

"Yes!" he cheered.

He heard Luffy laugh. _**"I can still hear you."**_

"Shit". Oh well, he was ecstatic enough not to be embarrassed by that. "Wait for me, okay?"

"_**Yeah, I will. Take care."**_

"I will, I lo- I mean, yeah I will. I'll see you soon."

The call ended and he looked at his dad who was grinning, twirling a key on his finger. "What?" Law asked.

"You do know how to ride a motorbike, right?"

* * *

Hey, hey hey. I'm back. :D Happy new year everyone. Sorry, it took a while for me to write the next chapter but don't worry. I ran out of inspiration and then the holidays came so yeah, it took a while but don't worry, I won't abandon this story.

I originally wanted to post this during New year's Eve but I had to transfer it from my notebook to my pc. And I added and deleted scenes along the way (took a day or 2 depending on where you're from).

So far, I'm contented with the outcome and I hope you guys will like it.

Hopefully you guys will continue reading this fic!

Enjoy the new year guys! Let's all be productive! :D


	13. Chapter 13

Hey! Here's another chapter!

I made a little something for this chapter and I posted a link near the scene. Hope you guys check it out :)

Thank you for reading my fic!

Have a good day everyone! :D

* * *

By the time Law arrived in the hospital, the sun was blaring down on him. The trip had been haste. He had to avoid streets he knew was congested to lessen his travel time. Thankfully, he wasn't stopped by any police officers along the way with his speed nor gotten any trouble with the bike – he didn't have any idea how long it remained unused but it seemed to be in fine condition.

He parked the motorcycle and grabbed his phone from his pocket. He checked the time and grinned when it was exactly twelve noon. Thirty minutes of travel wasn't so bad he thought.

He sent a quick text to his dad who sacrificed himself to the family. Law will surely remember his bravery. The family was his dad's problems now. He could find a reason why Law left the mansion. He paused and thought about it then shrugged. His dad can easily mention Luffy's name and no one will bat an eye.

He shook his head fondly. Up until today, he had no idea how Luffy wormed her way into his family to the point where they actually root for her instead of him. Though he couldn't really blame them. It was just Luffy being Luffy. It was either you end up liking her or disliking her. Nothing in between. But as far as Law knew, most of them were captivated. She was irresistible, it was as simple as that.

After sending his dad a text, he scrolled his contacts and dialed her number. Who was he kidding, Luffy's number was in his phone's speed dial along with his dad – he tapped a number and waited for her to pick up. He tapped his foot along with the ringing and raised a brow when it went to the automatic service provider's voice.

Did she leave? He checked his messages to make sure he didn't miss any text. His eyebrows furrowed, there was none.

Law dialed again yet still nothing.

Did her phone's battery ran out? He bit his lips and stared at his phone. His eyes zoned at the time displayed at the corner of the screen and rolled his eyes. Of course. Of course she'd be there. Even if the world might end without notice, Luffy won't miss any meal.

With that knowledge, he made his way to the hospital's cafeteria. And as expected, he saw her inhaling what seemed to be – Law squinted – her fifth bowl of udon. He was actually surprised that she wasn't shoving any kind of meat in her mouth.

Most of the seats were already occupied with the hospital staff and families of patients who opted to eat inside the hospital than going out to the restaurants around the area. She sat in one of the two seat tables placed closed to the food counter.

He maneuvered through tables and crowd and casually sat on the vacant seat opposite of hers. She was focused in slurping the noodles and didn't even notice that someone was already sitting in front of her.

Her cheeks were flushed from the heat of the noodle as she huddle closed to it, titling the bowl a bit as she dragged one mouthful with her chopsticks and sucked the noodles until there wasn't any trace left in her bowl. Law fought a grin, he wanted to pinch her damn cheeks but he had to stop himself or he'd end up losing a finger or two.

Still, it'll be worth it though. Just not today, he thought. He still need them for his operations.

Law opted to speak and tried changing his voice. "Hey there." He could see the lines on her forehead crinkling. Even without her looking at him nor giving him her attention, Law could clearly hear the "Who the hell are you and why are you interrupting my meal."

She continued to eat and didn't give a damn. He grinned. Typical Luffy.

He tried again. "Miss, do you have a name?"

Still nothing. All right.

"The staff mentioned that you're not allowed to order another bowl."

Law couldn't help but laugh at her face when she looked up. She was genuinely, utterly offended.

Law felt a little bad. Just a little.

She looked pissed at first then slowly morphed into surprise as she registered who she was looking at then eventually pouted.

He smiled. "Hey."

She scrunched her nose and gave him a dirty look. Moving the bowl away from him, she said, "You're not getting anything."

Law chuckled and raised his hands placatingly. "Calm down. I'm not stealing your food. But hey, I'm here. Did you wait long?"

She was still giving him that dirty look but quickly glanced to the side, obviously biting her inner cheek and holding off a smile. Law settled his elbows on the table and leaned his chin on his hands and stared at her, raising a questioning brow.

Her face bloomed to an even darker shade of pink, her resolve crumbling and finally, finally smiled at him, beaming from ear to ear. "You're here," she said.

God, she was goddamn pretty. He could just stare at her all day. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, I am. Did you think I wasn't coming?"

He didn't expect her answer.

"Shishishi, of course not. I trust you."

It was just a simple statement. It sounded so simple, so easily spoken but it took his breath away.

He looked at her. Really looked at her. She continued eating, casually shrugging off her red vest and only leaving a loose teal sleeveless shirt on as if she didn't blew her mind and shattered his reality.

He had never hoped to hear those words from her. After everything he did, he accepted the fact that there will always be something, a rift, a clot between the two of them that would never be removed no matter how many times he apologizes.

Somehow it meant more to him that the time they bare their hearts to each other. It meant more than just giving him a chance. She was opening up _everything_, removing the boundaries they danced through the previous months as they relearned each other, map out the things they missed with each other as they find each other's place in their lives. She was showing him how vulnerable she was around him.

Law choked up.

If he realized by the moment he asked for another chance that he wasn't worthy, this time it was worse. Because he really wasn't. He wasn't worth any ounce of her trust. But after those years, after those months of regretting and being given a chance to redeem himself, he was a different man.

This time, he'll treasure it for the rest of his life.

He'll treasure _her _for the rest of his life.

"I- Luffy… I-", he didn't know what to say. He felt like saying something was not enough to let her know how much this meant to him.

Overwhelming joy bubbled deep within him and he couldn't stop himself from letting out a heavy laughter with all the overflowing emotions he was feeling. He was scared to fuck up yet he was happy to have this – have her in his life. He was boiling with anxiety but he was also calm. He was at awe with the person in front of him.

God, he loves this woman. He loves her so damn much.

She tilted her head, concern evident in her eyes. Dropping her chopsticks, she asked. "You okay?" She eyed her food then his face. "Want some?"

He ran his hands on his face and composed himself. Still chuckling though, she was so ridiculous, she didn't know what the hell she was doing to him.

He let out a deep breath. Relieved. He felt bold and said, "Only if you feed me."

She scrunched her nose and he almost felt that pain in his chest for being rejected – god, he was pathetic, but immediately vanished when she gave him another set of chopsticks.

"It's better if we eat together." She said and moved the half-full bowl in the middle of the table. "Dig in." She added, smiling so brightly.

If he ate his own share of at least three more bowls of udon, he didn't really question any of it.

-x-

Satisfied with their meal, side by side, hand intertwined – she had grabbed his hand while walking and Law didn't let go and held hers tighter, lacing their fingers together, the little squeeze she gave him was more than enough to encourage him to keep holding her hand – Law led Luffy outside the hospital to where he parked the motorcycle.

The smile she had when she saw the ride was absolutely blinding. "You have to let me drive, Law!"

Let it be known to this day that Law made his point, explained everything, demanded and pleaded why her idea wasn't safe before he decided he didn't have any chance to begin with. She was dead set on driving that motorcycle and nothing, really nothing could change her mind.

They ended up taking a more remote way towards Wind Mill. One that followed the outskirts of the city and was less crowded. For the benefit of the pedestrians and other drivers really, his driver was a moving hazard. She didn't even have any driver's license. And he knew exactly why. He experienced it all firsthand. Law just really had to fall in love with one crazy woman, didn't he?

The view was stunning. Trees with different shades of green that decorated the path swayed with the ocean breeze. The ocean was visible from the road and it was sparkling even with slightly gray clouds lurking above. It was inviting, it could lure anyone into taking a dip. He could write poems about it. But it didn't mean that he would want to dive down that cliff with Luffy and their ride, though.

Letting Luffy drive was a rollercoaster of near death experiences. It was like Russian-roulette. It was endearing how she laughed heartily, thoroughly enjoying every stumble they encounter.

As endearing as it was, Law didn't want to die yet.

They eventually stopped on the side of the road after almost hitting a crossing dog.

"Okay, that's it. I'm driving." He demanded.

She had the audacity to pout after that. Is this woman really twenty-five years old? Sometimes he swore he was dealing with a ten year old brat. She kept sitting on the seat, arms crossed over her chest and actually had the guts to hold the hand grip and almost throttled the bike.

He stood firm in front of her and gave her a look. "Don't even think about it, Lu." He stared until she finally realized he wasn't moving from that spot.

"Good. Set the kickstand. Yes. That's it. Very good. Now slowly get off the bike – No, Luffy. If you press the gas I'll end up picking you on that part of the sidewalk or worse, we're going back to the hospital. Not on the bike but with an ambulance. Please."

He gave a sigh of relief when she finally, finally, got off the bike albeit begrudgingly. He smiled at the sulking woman and patted her head, hand lingering on her cheek a bit. "I'll teach you another time, okay? When we have protective clothes and a helmet 'cause this isn't safe at all."

She looked at him with suspicion. "Ace and Sabo says that all the time but they never do."

"I'm not one of your brothers though."

She visibly cringed, gagging a little and giving Law that questioning look. "Thank gods you're not. That would be so weird."

"Weird, why?"

"Because" she sounded like she was explaining it to a toddler and seriously, it should be Law doing that instead, "I wouldn't wanna da–", she stopped midway, eyes wide then grumbled to herself. "Nothing."

Okay. That piqued Law's his curiosity. "Why?"

She rubbed her arm with her hands. "Stop asking. You're giving me goosebumps."

"Come on, tell me."

"If you don't stop asking, I'll drive again."

For the safety of everyone, he opted to dismiss that for now. He couldn't really argue with that.

She ended up standing while riding the motorcycle hands raised in the air, wind blowing through her hair, giggling madly and screaming her lungs off as Law drove as safely as he could with all the demands of going faster.

_(A.N. I tried inserting my own art here for the fic but ff won't allow me :( so here's a link, hope you guys check it out imgur*com/JidLg71 . The site censors it so please change the * to ).__  
_

The rain had started to pour when they were half-way through between Sabaody and Wind Mill. They would've arrived sooner if someone wasn't being a brat. Not that he was complaining, he was happy that he got to spend time with her and seeing her enjoy and laugh around him was more than enough to cover up the times where they almost died.

He quickly glance at the sky and decided they had to stop somewhere. The clouds were dark and he doubted it will clear up soon. He checked the signs on the road to see if they were any establishments up ahead.

A kilometer away, now both totally soaked, they stopped at what seemed like an inn. Law parked the bike and dragged Luffy who had to pause and play under the rain towards the entrance of the establishment.

A few people waited in the lounge with their hiking bags haphazardly placed on the floor.

They were greeted by a staff the moment they entered and was generously given towels to dry themselves up. They headed to the reception where they were greeted by another staff.

He looked at Luffy who was already shivering and pulled her closer to his side. Law addressed the guy in the counter, "Do you have any souvenir clothing for sale or anything that we could change into or anything to dry our clothes?"

"I'm sorry sir but we don't sell souvenirs nor do we have anything for you to change. We do have a clothes dryer but only the guests who booked a room could avail it."

Law clicked his tongue. Typical. He had no other choice though. "Then two single rooms please."

"Hold on, sir. Let me check the available rooms." The staff concentrated on the monitor in front of him, typing away on his keyboard.

"Lu, are you okay?" He asked, Luffy was oddly quiet.

"Y-yeah. Just a bit cold."

"That's why I told you not to run off and play in the rain."

"But it was fun." She grinned at him and shuddered.

He frowned and pulled her even closer, sharing his towel with her. "T-thanks," she said.

"Excuse me, sir. Unfortunately, we only have two standard double rooms left. Would you like to take both?"

"Yeah, sure." He pulled out his wallet – thank whoever invented waterproof things – and gave the man his card only for Luffy to stop him.

"Law, we can share. I don't mind."

Law paused. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. We could use the payment for the other room for food." She grinned.

He shook his head, this woman, really. "I could pay for both and still get you food, you know."

"I know." She looked up at him and there was determination in her eyes, one where he knew he wouldn't probably survive what she was about to say.

"But I wanna stay in one room with you."

Yep. He knew it.

He couldn't really stop the blush that spread on his cheeks even with the chill coming from their soaked clothes. God, why was he like this? He was fucking twenty-six years old. Sharing a room with her shouldn't make him blush like he was fifteen again.

She was so damn unfair. She had to be doing this on purpose.

"A-alright." He cleared his throat and addressed the receptionist who looked like he was eavesdropping. "We'll take one room."

The man finished typing the details and gave them the key. A staff led them to their room but not long after they started walking, Luffy doubled-back to the receptionist.

"Can I have your menu?" She asked grinning.

-x-

At this point Law wasn't even listening to the staff explain whatever he was explaining to them. He didn't even register that they arrived in the room and was now left alone.

Law should be fine. They had done this countless times when they were back in high school. They stayed in a room just the two of them because of detention, played with his play station in his room, literally slept together when they had their school trip and lots of other things that if her brother would know, he'd end up buried alive.

But he couldn't really compare those times to what was happening now.

After what happened, they spent time together but not in the confines of a room and totally alone. And Law… He didn't want to fuck up and ruin everything.

He eyed Luffy who seemed so relaxed and was casually scanning the menu humming to herself. She was standing beside the bed, clothes still dripping with water, shivering but opted to order first before anything else.

That shook him out of his predicament.

"Lu, why don't you go change and use the robe they offered before you catch a cold? I'll order for you."

She frowned. "What about you? You're soaking too."

"I'll change here." He grabbed the extra white robe that was placed on the bed for emphasis because he knew she could be stubborn to a fault sometimes. "Then I'll use the bathroom after you."

She hummed. "Okay." She grabbed the other robe and headed to the bathroom leaving the menu behind. She closed the door but quickly opened it back. "They have onigiri. You should get some for yourself too." Then quickly closed the door again.

Law breathe in relief. Why the fuck was he acting like a kid in puberty? He slapped himself, this was not the time to freak out over the woman you love taking a bath at the other side of that door. "God, Law. Get a grip."

The bathroom door creaked opened and a hand casually threw wet clothes into the floor and chugged her phone into the bed then he heard her yell over the trickling water. "The guy said we should give them our clothes so they can dry it as soon as possible!"

"Right! I'll call room service while ordering food." He quickly took of his clothes and wrapped himself tightly with the robe. Looking around he saw remote control for the air conditioner and blasted it on. He blamed the temperature of the room for sweating.

He distracted himself, turning on the TV that was hanging on the grey wall, calling room service who he dump all the clothes at and ordering tons of food. He should probably add vodka too. Yeah, he nodded to himself. That sounded nice. He needed that.

Moments later, Luffy came out of the bathroom, hair covered with towel and with only a robe on. "I'm done. You're turn."

Or not, he called the room service again and cancelled that drink. He promised he won't drink again. And him being even a little tipsy while inside the room with her? That didn't sound like a good idea.

He briskly walked towards the bathroom grumbling to himself, "I swore I didn't plan any of this."

-x-

When Sabo, Ace, Marco and Garp arrived safe and sound in his and Koala's place, – tired and exhausted in Sabo's case because his brother just couldn't stop bickering with their gramps and the old idiot that their gramps was couldn't stop pissing Ace off, how Marco managed to stay calm and quiet the entire drive was driving Sabo crazy too – Koala greeted them and Sabo wanted to cry seeing her face and how much understanding her eyes hold as she opened her arms and gave him a hug.

Without much things to settle, Ace and Marco left, bidding goodbye to Koala – Marco dragging Ace out before he could start another argument with Garp. Now that he was looking closer, Marco looked like he aged ten years within an hour of driving with Ace and Garp in one car. Guess he wasn't the only getting tired of all their bullshit.

Plans were made to gather for dinner – Luffy should be home by then – courtesy of Koala who was a saint for owning up to cooking food that was enough to feed a battalion. There was nothing his future-wife couldn't do. Sabo was one lucky man.

After hovering over her in the kitchen, wanting to help because with Ace, Luffy, Garp and Sabo in one table, Koala needed all the help she could get but Sabo ended up getting sent to the living room to rest.

Garp seemed to be enjoying sitting on their couch with some sort of variety show running on the TV, snacking on some almonds. Where the hell did he get those?

He sat on the other end of the couch, leaning against the backrest and extending his legs. The rumble of the television started soothing his mind only to be interrupted by Gramp's guffaw. He sighed and eyed the television.

Three pairs of couples were currently competing with each other in a game. Some of them were covered with flour and others were soaked in yellow goo.

It was an odd show for Garp to watch. Sabo raised a brow, looking at the show then at Garp. He wasn't planning on dating right? Not that he minded, he could date whoever he wants even at his age but he couldn't really imagine his Gramps being all sweet and – he visibly shuddered. He just can't.

He opted to stop thinking about it and continued watching the show. His mind just supply abnormal thoughts when he's dead tired.

"Oh Sabo. Did you meet Luffy's parents?"

Sabo sighed. If his brain could stop spouting nonsense for a second and let him rest, that would be nice.

It was really ridiculous.

It took Sabo a loud crashing of plates to the floor to snap out of his Zen. Alarmed, he quickly hopped out of the couch and saw Koala wide-eyed, white ceramic fragments scattered on the floor, looking at his gramps who continued eating his almonds.

He bolted and checked if she was hurt. Thankfully, she was wearing wool pajamas and house slippers that covered her legs and feet. He grabbed a broom and dustpan to quickly sweep up the mess on the floor. He finished cleaning everything and removed what's left of the plate she was holding and placed them on the table.

His fiancée remained glued to her spot still in shock.

He held her arms, soothing her and asked. "Koala, honey. Are you okay? Are you dizzy? We should order take outs for tonight, don't force yourself and rest."

Koala looked at him flabbergasted then to the man sitting in their couch. "I- Did you –," she became wary, this time holding Sabo's arms firmly.

"Koala, what's wrong?"

"Garp… What did you just say?" She asked, oddly calm in contrast to the shock and surprised look she had earlier.

The older man turned towards them, adjusting the way he sat on the couch. "Ah. I was asking Sabo if he met Luffy's parents."

Sabo stared at Garp.

Garp tilted his head while looking at Sabo.

Koala firmly gripped both of his arms this time.

"Luffy's parents? What do you mean?" He was surprised he sounded so calm. Gramps better not be joking.

"Oh, I didn't tell you? My bad, my bad. They came to visit me at the hospital. I thought they introduced –"

"Hold up. Luffy's parents? As in, Luffy my little sister's biological parents?"

Garp looked at him, perplexed. Like he was the dumbest person that ever existed on earth. "Who else?"

"Sabo, let's get you seated." He heard Koala say and led him to the couch. She registered her running to the kitchen and coming back with a glass of water. "Here, why don't you drink? Slowly okay?"

Sabo drank slowly and steadily until his brain started functioning again.

Garp said Luffy had parents. Have parents. Their little sister, Monkey D. Luffy, known to be an orphan with only Garp as a family until she was introduced to him and Ace have alive, existing parents.

She wasn't an orphan.

She had parents who could've supported her.

She could've grown up in a normal family with parents who could nurture her.

But they left her to Garp who in return let Ace and Sabo – still kids themselves – take care of her and in extension with Makino and Dadan.

He wasn't sad that both he and Ace ended up taking care of her, Luffy ended up growing with them and became their sister. He wasn't complaining about that at all because he loved his siblings so much with all their quirks, blood related or not. He knew they were family.

Luffy could've had something better. Not that Sabo and Ace didn't do their damned best to give her a good life but he could have a normal family, with both parents present, feeling secure and loved.

It hurt to imagine that she wasn't around them growing up but she could've had better.

How could someone abandon a child?

Why now? Why appear now? Why?

After the eerie silence that settled between them. Koala looked at him concerned, hands holding his own.

"Why? Why now? Why the fuck now? After all those years, twenty-five fucking years. You told her she didn't have parents. She asked you" he looked at the man beside him "and you told her she didn't have any. You told us that she didn't have any and we believed you."

Garp sighed as if talking about it was taking a toll on his life. Heck it fucking should. Sabo for the life of him couldn't understand why. Just fucking why?

"I don't think I have the right to explain their circumstances."

Sabo stared at him, unbelieving. "What?" This was too much.

Gramps did look apologetic but it only added more fuel to his frustration, confusion and anger. "I know this is too much to handle –"

Sabo chuckled dryly. "Well that's a fucking understatement Gramps!" He stood up, Sabo could feel Koala tensing beside him and he did his best to curb down his emotions, relaxing a bit in her presence.

"Did they… did you even think what she would feel for them to just – just suddenly appear out of nowhere knowing all of her life that she didn't have any to begin with?!" He could've spoken a little bit calmly but he was oh so far from being calm. Very, very from it.

"Ace knew his parents died a long, long time ago. I knew my parents were abusive assholes and ended up in jail for taking money that weren't theirs and to be honest, good riddance, I would've disowned them on my own anyways. Meanwhile, your son? Daughter? I don't really give a fuck at this point. They were there. They knew she was there. But didn't even bother showing themselves to her? They're more of an asshole than my birth parents. Then what? Coming back after years? Would you really think me and Ace would casually say, "Oh, hi you're Luffy's parents you can have her back –"

Garp sighed. "No one's saying they would take her away from you and Ace, Sabo."

He glared at the older man. Respect be damned. "I'm not done yet, old man." He dragged a hand over his hair, lightly pulling them and continued. "And Luffy. She wouldn't think anything ill against them because she's so… kind, so selfless, so forgiving. Even for people who don't deserve them. Tell me one good reason why Ace and I should allow them to see her."

"They're her parents, Sabo."

"Yes, they are but it didn't mean they have the right to even get close to her for a second. They left her for whatever the fuck their reason was and with that they wouldn't go near her for any reason either."

"They had to." Garp said, sounding dejected.

"They had to? Unbelievable. They had to? And you're letting them near her? Are you even listening to yourself Gramps?"

The older man looked at him straight in the eyes with all the seriousness Sabo had ever seen for a man as crazy as their grandfather. "I was the one who told them to leave Luffy behind. They… It's better if we all talk about it together. With them and Luffy around."

"Honey. Why don't we rest for a bit?"

It was Sabo's turn to look at his fiancée, perplexed.

"We're not done talking, Koala. I need- "

"Sabo. I am not asking." She stood firm between him and Gramps. "It'll be assuming of me and insincere if I say I understand what you feel but Luffy's also very important to me. I'm mad at Garp. At her biological parents. But this… this conversation… this argument isn't going anywhere. You're both clouded with emotions, both very exhausted. Rest for now, both of you." She looked sternly between him and his grandpa. "Give it a day or two. And go back and talk like mature people."

It took a moment for him to answer. Logically speaking, Koala was right. It was so unlike him to get so mad he couldn't even think straight and shout and curse in an argument. "Fine." He grumbled begrudgingly.

"Come on." Koala led him to their room.

He paused near the door and faced his grandpa. "It's better if you don't say anything to Ace. I don't know what he'll do if he knew."

Sighing, Garp nodded and sat back on the couch. At the corner of his eyes, he could see the man call someone on his phone.

For all things holy, he hoped it wasn't Ace.

He sighed and doubled back when he heard Luffy's name. He better not call Luffy and tell her about those people. Those outsiders.

He marched back to the living room and stared down at Garp who looked equally surprised yet had the air that he knew it was bound to happen. "Give me the phone." He muttered darkly.

"No." The man was about to end the call but Sabo successfully grabbed it and looked at the screen.

It was a video call.

He didn't know the old man could use a smart phone.

Focus, Sabo.

It was a video call.

A video call of Trafalgar Law, a person he never thought nor suspected one bit that Garp would call. Did that asshole knew about Luffy's parents too? This was getting out of hand.

They image on the screen looked at him surprised. While he stared back in suspicion. Until his eyes landed on what the younger man was wearing and the name above the video call.

_-MY ADORABLE GRAND DAUGTHER-_

Before he could even speak. An equally newly out of the shower Luffy with only a white robe on, eating what seemed to be an onigiri came into view and asked Law who he was calling.

"Ugh."

Luffy crawled on the bed and sat beside Law. Too close. Too damn close for Sabo's comfort.

The trio stared at each other. Then with a mess of limbs, Luffy tried to grab the phone from Law.

"End the call!" Sabo heard Luffy panicking.

"No. They're going to misunderstand, Luffy. Better explain it now."

"Explain what?!" Sabo exclaimed.

"They're going to misunderstand no matter how much you explain!" It was Luffy again.

What was that supposed to mean?

We're they chasing each other inside the room? Sabo squinted, with all the movement and shaking of Law's hand he could see a table, a bed, a tv hanging on the wall, tons of food in a cart and… Oh for fuck sakes, they were in an inn.

"Just give me my damn phone, Torao!"

Sabo could see Law extending his arm away from Luffy who paused and Luffy who also stopped midway in her attempt to grab it back. They stared at each other for a long time.

"That… You called me Torao. Lu…"

Sabo didn't like the tone of the man's voice. Not at all. That utter adoration, reverence and dare he say, love.

Even with the shitty reception, Sabo could see the blush on Luffy's face. She then held her head high, extended her arms and open her palm. "I -I did. Now give me the phone, Torao."

Law didn't seem to move so Luffy opted to walk closer. Law placed his grubby, filthy hands on her sister's face and leaned on her forehead.

Sabo gasped. "Excuse me?!"

Luffy then quickly grabbed the phone and he might've heard Law say "don't" somewhere in there before the call ended. What was left was his own flabbergasted face reflecting on the lit screen and the time stamp for the call.

Garp cleared his throat and quoted what he said. "It's better if you don't say anything to Ace. I don't know what he'll do if he knew."

Sabo was going to end up with gray hair or even bald before his wedding day.

* * *

I feel bad for Sabo but I can't help but laugh at him either. lol

Guy's gonna get aneurysm before the fic ends. lol

Give him support guys. He needs it XD

Again, thank you for reading! See you next chapter!


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